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Columbia  Stotoenrttp 

inttjeCttptfllmigork 


LIBRARY 


HISTORY 


OF  THE 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


HISTORY/  COl-.COLL. 

I, I*    (ARY 

OF  THE 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 


FROM  THE 


REVOLUTION  TO  TEE  PRESENT  TIME. 


BY 


JOHN  PARKER  LAWSON,  M.A. 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  ARCHBISHOP  LAUD,"  ETC. 


EDINBURGH  : 

GALLIE  AND  BAYLEY,  GEORGE  STREET. 

LONDON:  JAMES  BURNS,  PORTMAN  STREET,  PORTMAN  SQUARE. 

GLASGOW  :    THOMAS  MURRAY.      ABERDEEN  :   A.  BROWN  AND  CO. 

OXFORD :  J.  H.  PARKER.     CAMBRIDGE :  J.  &  J.  J.  DEIGHTON. 

DUBLIN  :    W.  CURRY  AND  CO. 

M.DCCC.XLIII. 


•  • 


EDINBURGH  PRINTING  COMPANY. 


TO  THE 

RIGHT  REVEREND  WILLIAM  SKINNER,  D.D.  FRIMUS. 

RIGHT    REVEREND    PATRICK    TORRY,  D.D. 

RIGHT  REVEREND  DAVID  LOW,  LL,D.  AND  F.S.S.A. 

RIGHT  REVEREND    MICHAEL    RUSSELL,    LL.D.    AND  D.C.L. 

RIGHT  REVEREND  DAVID  MOIR,  D.D. 

RIGHT   REVEREND    CHARLES  HUGHES    TERROT,    D.D. 


BISHOPS  OF  THE  SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH, 


THIS  VOLUME 


IS  MOST  DUTIFULLY  AND  RESFECTFULLY 


INSCRIBED. 


21 


PREFACE. 


In  submitting  this  Volume  to  the  Public  the  Author  does  so 
with  very  great  diffidence,  and  he  wishes  to  be  distinctly  under- 
stood that  the  Church  of  which  he  is  a  humble  member  is  not  to 
be  held  responsible  for  any  opinions  or  inferences  he  advances. 
Although  it  is  hoped  that  nothing  herein  recorded  is  at  variance 
with  the  principles  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  the  Author 
wishes  this  to  be  candidly  kept  in  view  by  all,  whether  friends  or 
foes,  into  whose  hands  this  volume  may  fall,  on  the  same  principle 
that  it  would  be  illiberal  to  consider  the  Presbyterian  Establish- 
ment at  large  as  identified  with  such  works  as  the  "  History  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland,"  by  Mr  Hetherington  of  Torphichen,  or  that 
all  its  members  approved  of  the  commemoration  of  the  Glasgow 
General  Assembly  of  1638,  held  in  Edinburgh  in  1838,  when  very 
offensive  and  insulting  remarks  were  uttered  towards  the  Church 
of  England,  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  and  the  Church  at 
large ;  and  a  feeble  and  unsuccessful  attempt  made  on  the  part  of 
certain  Presbyterian  leaders  to  revive  the  bigotry,  the  prejudices, 
and  the  intolerance  of  the  Covenanting  times. 

In  this  historical  narrative  the  Author  has  as  much  as  possible  re- 
firained  from  controversy,  and  confined  himself  solely  to  facts  and 
to  what  appeared  the  legitimate,  deductions.  It  is,  of  course,  im- 
possible to  avoid  strong  statements  respecting  the  events  immedi- 
ately succeeding  the  Revolution,  when  a  fierce  theological  warfare 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

was  for  years  carried  on  between  the  supporters  of  the  Presbyterian 
Establishment  and  the  members  of  the  ejected  Church,  and  much 
personal  bitterness  and  acrimony  were  evinced  by  both  parties. 
Some  quotations  are  given  from  the  writings  of  the  Episcopal  clergy 
of  the  time,  which  sufficiently  indicate  the  state  of  public  feeling ; 
while  those  passages  from  Wodrow  in  particular  show  at  once  the 
insecurity  in  which  the  Presbyterian  Establishment  was  long  con- 
sidered to  be  placed  even  by  its  own  zealous  adherents,  and  the 
very  slight  hold  which  it  possessed  in  many  districts  of  Scotland 
on  the  affection  of  the  people.  These  are  matters  of  history 
which  may  be  viewed  differently,  but  which  cannot  be  denied  or 
controverted.  In  narrating  the  events  of  more  recent  times  the 
Author  studiously  avoided  any  reference  to,  or  collision  with,  the 
Presbyterian  Establishment,  except  when  such  was  forced  upon 
his  notice,  as  showing  the  enmity  cherished  towards  the  Scottish 
Episcopal  Church.  In  the  present  state  of  religious  feeling  in 
Scotland  such  a  work  as  this  will  not  probably  be  considered 
out  of  place.  The  Church  is  continually  assailed  in  the  most  ran- 
corous bitterness,  although  its  members  exhibit  no  proselytizing 
spirit.  Every  act  is  misrepresented  or  perverted,  to  prejudice  the 
unthinking  and  the  wrong-thinking.  The  names  of  individual 
Divines  in  England  are  applied  in  the  most  sectarian  spirit ;  their 
alleged  theological  opinions  are  maintained  as  openly  avowed  by 
the  Scottish  Episcopal  clergy ;  and  the  old  charge  of  an  inclination 
to  Romanism  is  repeatedly  brought  forward.  It  is  most  extra- 
ordinary that  in  Scotland  any  person  who  chooses  to  hold  different 
opinions  from  the  Presbyterians  is  sure  to  be  assailed  by  them  as  a 
Papist,  or  as  having  imbibed  the  principles  of  Romanism.  Under 
these  circumstances  a  regular  History  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church  since  the  Revolution,  narrating  its  persecutions,  depres- 
sions, vicissitudes,  and  present  state,  appeared  to  be  necessary, 
more  especially  as  much  misconception  exists  on  the  subject.  The 
Author  takes  this  opportunity  of  reminding  the  reader  of  the  valu- 
able "  Annals  of  Scottish  Episcopacy,"  by  the  late  Very  Rev.  John 
Skinner,  M.A.  of  Forfar,  for  a  detail  of  all  the  correspondence  con- 


PREFACE.  IX 

nected  with  the  repeal  of  the  Penal  Laws  in  1792,  and  for  various 
matters  to  the  year  1816.  That  Work  resumes,  as  it  were,  the 
"  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland,"  from  the  earliest  times  to 
1788,  by  Mr  Skinner's  venerable  grandfather,  the  Rev.  John  Skin- 
ner of  Longside,  in  two  volumes,  now  extremely  scarce,  and  only  to 
be  found  in  libraries.  Bishop  Russell's  "  History  of  the  Church  in 
Scotland,"  in  two  small  volumes,  is  on  the  plan  of  Mr  Skinner's 
Ecclesiastical  History,  commencing  from  the  introduction  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  the  space  devoted  to  the  history  of  the  Church  after 
the  Revolution  is  exceedingly  limited. 

It  may  be  here  stated  that  in  this  narrative  the  adherence  of  the 
Church  for  a  century  after  the  Revolution  to  the  Stuart  Family  is 
prominently  brought  forward.  At  this  time,  when  such  political 
feelings  are  completely  forgotten,  it  would  be  folly  to  deny  the  at- 
tachment of  the  clergy  and  laity  to  that  unfortunate  Dynasty,  for 
their  adherence  to  which  they  had  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things. 
The  Presbyterians  may,  if  they  please,  raise  their  old  clamour  of  the 
long  continued  disaffection  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  to  the 
House  of  Hanover,  and  the  fact  is  readily  admitted.  But  it  must  be 
remembered  that  a  great  principle  of  legitimate  right  was  considered 
to  be  involved — that  the  Jacobites,  as  they  were  called,  whether 
members  of  the  Church,  Roman  Catholics,  or  even  Presbyterians, 
were  neither  Jacobins  nor  Revolutionists — and  that  they  contended 
for  what  appeared  to  them  to  involve  the  very  existence  of  the  mo- 
narchy. Time  has  shown  that  they  were  mistaken,  and  a  succeed- 
ing generation  views  the  matter  in  its  proper  light.  Yet  the  at- 
tachment to  the  Stuart  Dynasty  was  as  sincere  as  it  was  romantic ; 
and  amid  all  the  taunts  of  disloyalty  occasionally  levelled  against 
the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  by  its  sectarian  opponents,  its  mem- 
bers have  no  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  the  political  principles  of 
their  forefathers.  When,  in  1788,  the  Bishops,  clergy,  and  laity, 
willingly  tendered  their  allegiance  to  the  reigning  Sovereign,  they 
did  so  with  the  same  sincerity  which  had  marked  their  conduct  for 
:>  century  previous,  and  the  principle  was  well  understood  and  even 
commended  by  the  public  men  of  the  dai       If  isf  needless  to  ob- 


X  PREFACE. 

serve,  that  since  the  period  alluded  to  the  Sovereigns  of  Great 
Britain,  and  the  Monarchy  and  Constitution,  have  not  more  de- 
voted subjects,  or  zealous  supporters,  than  the  Scottish  Bishops, 
clergy,  and  laity. 

It  may  probably  appear  to  some  readers,  who  are  well  informed  in 
the  History  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  that  sundry  matters 
are  omitted  of  which  they  expected  to  find  details.  It  is  hoped  that 
these  are  few,  and  comparatively  unimportant,  and  can  little  affect 
the  general  scope  of  the  narrative.  Some  transactions  have  been 
purposely  excluded,  because  it  appeared,  after  careful  deliberation, 
that  they  never  could  have  led  to  beneficial  or  practical  results. 
Such,  for  example,  was  the  correspondence  with  a  branch  of  the 
orthodox  Greek  Church,  any  statement  of  which  is  from  its  very 
nature  altogether  superfluous,  and  would  only  have  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  sectarian  enemies  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church 
an  additional  weapon  for  calumny  and  misrepresentation.  Many 
of  the  prosecutions  of  the  clergy  and  other  events  are  also  so 
similar,  that  a  few  cases  are  quite  sufficient  to  explain  the  whole,  a 
minute  investigation  of  which  would  have  made  the  volume  tedious 
and  too  large.  The  successions  in  the  Episcopate  are  carefully  nar- 
rated as  of  the  utmost  importance,  for  while  the  ordinations  of 
Deacons  and  Presbyters  are  merely  local  and  personal,  the  Church 
at  large  has  a  vital  interest  in  the  consecration  of  every  Bishop. 
The  Appendix  could  have  been  extended,  but  it  was  considered  in 
the  meanwhile  unnecessary.  The  Canons  are  inserted,  by  per- 
mission, at  the  request  of  several  distinguished  individuals. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  stated  to  those  Presbyterian  Journalists 
who  may  honour  the  Author  by  then*  vituperation,  that  it  is  ex- 
pected they  will  confine  themselves  to  the  facts  recorded,  and  re- 
frain from  the  vulgarities  and  personalities  which  they  are  too  apt 
to  indulge  in  the  prints  and  periodicals  with  which  they  are  con- 
nected. Abusive  epithets,  distorted  statements,  unfounded  insinu- 
ations, and  imputations  of  motives  which  have  been  repeatedly 
disclaimed,  are  mean  and  ungenerous,  and  do  no  injury  to  those 
who  are  so  assailed.     That  much  in  this  volume  will  be  offensive  to 


PREFACE.  XI 

a  particular  section  of  the  Established  Presbyterians,  who  seem  to 
be  animated  by  a  fierce  jealousy  and  bitter  hatred  to  the  Scottish 
Episcopal  Church,  is  to  be  expected,  nor  is  it  possible  that  such 
could  altogether  be  avoided ;  but  they  ought  to  recollect  that  the 
productions  of  such  persons  as  Mr  Hetherington  of  Torphichen,  Mr 
Gray  of  Perth,  and  Dr  Brown  of  Langton,  and  the  numerous 
speeches  and  anonymous  writings  of  their  friends,  are  not  particu- 
larly scrupulous  as  to  Christian  charity  and  common  politeness,  and 
contain  much  which  is  scurrilous,  malignant,  and  vindictive.  These 
Presbyterian  journalists  may  be  farther  assured  that  they  will  yet 
have  much  to  do  in  their  contest  with  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church — an  aggressive  contest,  let  it  be  remembered,  for  that 
Church  wages  no  warfare  except  with  u  false  doctrine,  heresy,  and 
schism,"  from  which  its  members  daily  pray  to  be  delivered,  as 
they  also  pray  to  be  preserved  from  "  hardness  of  heart,  and  con- 
tempt of  God's  holy  will  and  commandments."  The  present  Au- 
thor is  only  a  gleaner  in  this  field  of  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  his 
country ;  and  he  is  well  aware  that  not  a  few  in  Scotland  are  now 
girding  on  the  armour,  ready  to  defend  to  the  uttermost  those  doc- 
trines, principles,  and  polity,  which  have  stood  the  test  of  ages,  and 
are  embodied  in  the  time-hallowed  Liturgy  of  the  Church.    . 

Edinburgh,  November  1842. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Introductory  Remarks,        ....         xxxiii 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  two  Periods  of  the  History  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  1 

First  Consecration  of  Scottish  Bishops  in  1610,  .  .  2 

Extinction  of  that  Succession,  .  .  .  ib. 

Bishop  Sydserff  of  Galloway,        ....        ib. 
Archbishop  Tillotson's  ordination,       ...  3 

Second  Consecration  of  Scottish  Bishops  in  1661,       .  .  4 

Archbishop  Sharp  of  St  Andrews,       ...  5 

Hatred  cherished  towards  him  by  the  Presbyterians,   .  .  6 

Kirkton's  character  of  him,  ...  7 

His  conduct  as  Primate,  ;         ib. 

Story  told  of  him  by  Wodrow,  ...  8 

Falsehoods  propagated  against  him  and  his  family,     .  .  9 

Kirkton's  character  of  Archbishop  Fairfoull,        .  .  ib. 

His  character  of  Archbishop  Leighton,         .  .  .10 

Anecdoto  of  Leighton  and  Sir  James  Steuart  of  Goodtrees,  11,12 

Kirkton's  character  of  Bishop  Wishart,        .  .  .13 

Of  the  other  Bishops,  .  .  .  11.15 

Proceedings  at  tho  Consecration  of  Archbishop  Sharp  and  his 

brethren.  .  .  .  .  ,15 


XIV 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Singular  notions  of  some  Presbyterian  writers  on  Baptism,  16,  17 

Perversion  of  Bishop  Jolly's  opinions  by  Mr  Andrew  Gray  of 
Perth,  ..... 

First  Consecration  held  in  Scotland  after  1661,  in  the  Chapel- 
Royal  of  Holyrood,         .... 
Contemporary  Account  of  that  Consecration, 
Account  of  the  mode  of  conducting  Divine  Service  in  the  Epis- 
copal Church  of  Scotland  after  the  Restoration, 
The  Results  of  the  Glasgow  General  Assembly  of  1638  stated, 
Religious  condition  of  the  Highlands  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
State  and  Ritual  of  the  Church  after  1662, 
Fanaticism  in  Scotland, 

Moderation  of  the  Bishops  to  the  Presbyterian  Ministers, 
Revenues  of  the  Scottish  Bishoprics  previous  to  the  Revolution, 
Erection  of  the  Court  of  Teinds, 
Gross  dilapidation  of  the  Episcopal  revenues, 
Ecclesiastical  Divisions  of  Scotland, 
Notices  of  Archbishop  Ross  of  St  Andrews, 

Bishop  Rose  of  Edinburgh, 

Bishop  Hamilton  of  Dunkeld, 

Bishop  Hallyburton  of  Brechin  and  Aberdeen,    . 

Bishop  Hay  of  Moray, 

Bishop  Drummond  of  Brechin, 

Bishop  Douglas  of  Dunblane, 

Bishop  Ramsay  of  Ross, 

Bishop  Wood  of  Caithness, 

Bishop  Bruce  of  Orkney, 

Archbishop  Paterson  of  Glasgow, 

Bishop  Gordon  of  Galloway, 

Dr  Monro,  Bishop-elect  of  Argyll, 

Bishop  Graham  of  the  Isles, 
Observations  on  the  state  of  the  Government, 


18 

19 

20 

21 
22 
23 
24 

24,25 
25 

26,27 
28 

28,29 

29,30 
30 

30,31 
31 
ib. 
32 

32,33 
33 
ib. 

33,34 
34 

34,35 
35 
ib. 
35 

36,37 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Revolution  of  1688, 
Proceedings  of  the  Scottish  Bishops, 


38 

38,39 


CONTENTS.  XV 

TAGE 

Bishop  Rose  of  Edinburgh's  journey  to  London,  .  39,  40 

His  interview  with  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,        .  .       40 

And  with  the  English  Bishops,  .  .  .    40,  41,  42 

Conversation  between  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  and  the  Bishop 

of  London,      .  .  .  .  .42, 43, 44 

Interview  of  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  with  the  Prince  of 

Orange,  .  .  .  .  44, 45 

Conduct  of  the  Scottish  Bishops  at  that  period,  .  .       46 

Reflections,  .  .  .  .  .         47, 48 

CHAPTER  III. 

Vindication  of  the  Established  Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland, 

Bishop  Burnet  in  Scotland, 

Mode  of  performing  Divine  Service, 

The  Old  Confession  of  Faith, 

Character  of  the  Compilers  of  the  Westminster  Confession  of 

Faith  by  Clarendon  and  Neal, 
Government  of  the  Episcopal  Church, 
Misrepresentations  of  the  Presbyterians, 
Their  calumnies  against  the  Parochial  Clergy, 
Eccentric  account  of  the  state  of  a  parish  in  Dumfries-shire, 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Riots  at  the  Revolution,                .                 .                 .  01 

The  real  prosecutors  of  the  Covenanters,               .  .           61,62 

Sufferings  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy  after  the  Revolution,  63,  64 

Description  of  the  state  of  the  Church  by  Mr  Morer,  .           65,  6G 

The  Cameronians,           ....  ib. 

Bishop  Sage's  account  of  the  Sufferings  of  the  Clergy,  00,  67,  68 

Violent  conduct  of  the  Cameronian  Presbyterians,         .  69 

They  are  defended  bj  Presbyterian  writers,       .  .          00, 7»' 

The  Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland  never  persecuting,  71 

Principal  Monro's  description  of  the  Presbyterians,  .           7--70 

His  Replies  to  some  libels  against  himself    .  .  *<• 


,   49, 

50 

50, 

51 

51, 

52 

52 

53 

54,  55, 

56 

57, 

58 

58, 

59 

59,60 

XVI  CONTENTS. 

-      PAGE 

CHAPTER  V. 

State  of  Parties  in  Scotland  at  the  Revolution,  .  79 

Ker  of  Kersland's  account  .  .  .  ib. 

Proceedings  of  the  Presbyterians,  ...  80 

Meeting  of  the  Scottish  Estates  in  1689,         .  .  81 

Archbishops,  Bishops,  and  Nobility  present,         .  .  ib. 

Declaration  signed  by  the  Archbishops  and  Bishops,     .  85T 

They  withdraw  from  the  Meeting,         .  .  .  ib. 

Oath  of  Allegiance  exacted  by  the  Estates,  .  83 

Proclamation  against  Papists,  ib. 

Congratulatory  Letter  to  the  Prince  of  Orange,  .  84 

The  Scottish  Throne  declared  vacant,  .  .  ib. 

Claim  of  Right,  ....  ib. 

Crown  offered  to  William  and  Mary,                     .                .  ib, 
Allusion  to  the  Episcopal  Church,                 .                 .  ib. 
Oath  of  Allegiance  to  William  and  Mary,             .                 .  ib. 
Oath  of  Allegiance  before  the  Revolution,                    .  85 
Speech  of  the  Earl  of  Arran,  ib. 
Bishop  Short  on  the  Oath  of  Allegiance,       .                .  86 
Acts  of  the  Scottish  Estates  against  the  Episcopal  Church,  87 
Acceptance  of  the  Crown  by  William  and  Mary,           .                 87,  88 
Deprivation  of  some  of  the  Edinburgh  Clergy,     .                .  88 
Conduct  of  Bishop  Burnet  of  Salisbury,        .                 .  ib. 
Dr  Scott,  Dean  of  Glasgow,  delegated  to  London  by  the  suffer- 
ing Clergy,              ....  ib. 

Violence  of  a  mob  in  Glasgow,  ...  89 

Disorderly  conduct  of  the  mob  at  Edinburgh,  .  ib. 

The  Estates  issue  a  Proclamation  ordering  the  Clergy  to  pray 

for  William  and  Mary,  ...  90 

The  Committee  of  the  Estates  eject  numbers  of  the  Parochial 

Clergy,  .  .  .  ...         90, 91 

The  Duke  of  Hamilton  and  Archbishop  Ross  of  St  Andrews,  91 

The  Duke  of  Gordon  and  the  Viscount  of  Dundee,  .  92 

Seige  of  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh,  .  .  92,  93 

The  Viscount  of  Dundee  withdraws  from  the  Estates,         .  93 
The  Cameronian  plot  to  murder  him  and  Sir  George  Mackenzie,  93,  94 


CONTENTS.  XVn 

PAGE 

The  Viscount's  romantic  conference  with  the  Duke  of  Gordon,  94 

Excitement  of  the  inhabitants  of  Edinburgh,  .  95 

The  Viscount  leaves  Edinburgh  for  the  Highlands  to  raise  the 

Clans,  •  .  .  .  .  ib. 

A  warrant  issued  against  him  by  the  Estates,  .  ib. 

Advance  of  General  Mackay  against  the  Viscount  of  Dundee,  ib. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

First  Parliament  of  William  and  Mary,               .                .  96 

Dr  George  Cook's  vindication  of  the  Scottish  Bishops  and  Clergy,  97,  98 

Act  passed  "  abolishing  Prelacie,"                        .                .  98,  99 

Battle  of  Killiecrankie  and  death  of  the  Viscount  of  Dundee,  99 
Proceedings  of  the  Parliament  against  the  Episcopal  Clergy,      99,  100 

The  Scottish  Episcopalians  styled  Jacobites  by  their  opponents,  101 

First  Session  of  the  Parliament,            .                .                 .  102 

The  Duke  of  Hamilton's  conduct,                  .                 .                 .  ib. 

Bigotry  of  the  Presbyterians,                 .                 .                 .  103 

Second  Session  of  the  Parliament,                .                 .                 .  ib. 

Character  of  the  Earl  of  Melville,  .  .  .  ib. 
Acts  passed  in  favour  of  the  Presbyterians,  .  103,  104,  105 
Defence  of  the  Scottish  Bishops  and  Clergy  by  the   Duke  of 

Hamilton,               ....  106 

His  Grace  retires  in  disgust  from  the  Parliament,               .  107 

Act  passed  for  visiting  the  Universities  and  Schools,              .  ib. 

Deprivation  of  all  who  refused  to  comply  with  Presbyterianism,  108 

University  of  St  Andrews  visited,                .                 .                  .  ib. 

The  Principals,  Professors,  and  Masters,  ejected,                 .  109 

Insolent  conduct  of  the  Earl  of  Crawfurd,                     .                 .  ib. 

The  University  of  Glasgow  visited,                       .                 .  ib. 

The  Principal  and  three  Professors  ejected,                 .                 .  ib. 

The  University  of  Aberdeen  visited,                 .                    .  ib 

The  Committee  unable  to  eject  the  Episcopal  Professors  there,  1 10 

University  of  Edinburgh  visited,  .  .  .  ib. 
Insolent  conduct  of  the  Commission,  .  .  110,  1 1  1 
Causes  the  publication  of  the  "  Presbyterian  Inquisition"  by 

Dr  Monro,           ...                                    ,  ib. 

h 


XV111  CONTENTS. 

PAOE 

Notices  of  Principal  Monro,         .                .                .  111,112 

Charges  exhibited  against  him,            .                 .                 .  113, 114 

His  Replies  to  these  Articles,        .                 .                 .  114-119 

He  is  deprived  of  the  office  of  Principal,               .                 .  119 
Professors  Strachan,  Drummond,  Douglas,  and  Burnet,  deprived,       ib. 

Professor  Gregory  allowed  to  remain,                    .                 .  ib. 

Dr  Monro's  opinion  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Commissioners,  120,  121 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Proceedings  against  the  Episcopal  Parochial  Clergy,  .               122 

Retirement  of  the  Bishops  from  public  affairs,              .  ,123 

Bishop  Short  on  the  religious  state  of  Scotland,  .       123,  124 

Notices  of  the  ejected  Bishops,                      .                 .  124,  125 

George  Ridpath's  attacks  against  the  Church,     .  .       126,  127 

Parochial  Clergy  deposed,             .                 .                 .  128-134 

Religious  destitution  in  Scotland  by  ejecting  the.  Clergy,  134,  135,  136 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Attachment  of  the  people  to  their  Episcopal  pastors  in  va- 
rious towns  and  districts,  ,  .  .         138 — 149 

CHAPTER  IX. 

he  first  Presbyterian  General  Assembly  after  the  Revolution,         150 
Proceedings  at  the  commencement, 
Letter  from  King  William, 
Conduct  of  several  of  the  members, 
A  Fast  enjoined,       .... 
Publication  of  the  "  Scotch  Presbyterian  Eloquence," 
Its  supposed  compilers,     . 
Account  of  this  production,     . 
The  "  Answer"  by  George  Ridpath, 
Principal  Monro's  "  Reply," 
Opinions  of  the  Scottish  Episcopalians  on  the  "  Scotch 

Presbyterian  Eloquence," 
Account  of  some  of  the  ecclesiastical  proceedings  by  a 

Presbyterian, 


150, 

151 

• 

152 

153, 

154 

154, 

155 

156, 

157 

157 

.  157, 

158 

158, 

159 

.  159, 

160 

160- 

-163 

>4,  165, 

166 

CONTENTS.  XIX 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  X. 

State  of  the  Episcopal  Church  after  its  non-establishment,  167 

Extracts  from  the  "  Culloden  Papers,"  .  .  168—172 

Deaths  of  some  of  the  Scottish  Bishops,  .  .     172,  173 

Depressed  state  of  the  Episcopal  Church  during  the  reign 

of  William  III.       .  ,  .  .  173 

The  King  personally  not  an  enemy  of  the   Scottish  Episco-] 

pal  Churc'i,  ....  174 

Death  of  King  James  II.  175 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Accession  of  Queen  Anne,  .  .  .  .  176 
State  of  Parties,  ....  176,  177 
The  Queen  is  petitioned  by  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Clergy,  177 
Gracious  reception  of  the  Deputation,  .  .  .  178 
Unnecessary  alarm  of  the  Presbyterians,  .  .  ib. 
Letter  of  the  Estates  to  Queen  Anne,  .  178,  179 
The  Faculty  of  Advocates  prosecuted,  .  .  179 
Favourable  sentiments  of  the  Queen  towards  the  Scottish  Epis- 
copal Church,  .  ih. 
An  Act  of  Toleration  suggested,  .  .  .  ib. 
Fiercely  opposed  by  the  Presbyterians,  .  .  180 
Episcopal  places  of  worship  in  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  at  that 

period,                 ....  180,  181 
Peaceful  State  of  the  Church,      ....       181 

Death  of  Archbishop  Ross  of  St  Andrews,           .                 .  ib. 

Consecration  of  Bishops  Fullarton  and  Sage,               .  .         ib. 

Biographical  Account  of  Bishop  Sage,  .  .     182 185 

Notices  of  his  Works,                   .                 .                 .  185,186 

A  Toleration  again  suggested,             .                .                 .  186,  187 

Character  of  the  Duke  of  Queensberry,       .                  .  187 

The  three  Political  Parties  in  Scotland,            .               .  187,  188 

The  Union  between  England  and  Scotland,                .  188 

Death  of  Archbishop  Paterson  of  Glasgow  and  Bishop  ITav,  ib. 

Consecration  of  Bishops  Falconer  and  Christie,                  .  189 


XX  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Adoption  of  the   English  Liturgy  in  the  Scottish  Episcopal 

Church,  .  .  .  •  .190 

Favourable  reception  by  the  people,  ...  *&• 

Alarm  of  the  Presbyterians,        .  .  •  190,  191 

Principal  Carstairs,  .  .  .  •  191 

The  Differences  between  the  Scottish   and  English    Liturgies 

stated,  .  .  .  •  .192 

The  Presbyterian  General  Assembly  denounce  the  English  Li- 
turgy, .....  193 
Prosecution  of  several  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy,  .  .  ib. 
Imprisonment  of  the  Rev.  George  Graham,  .  .  ib. 
Erroneous  statements  of  De  Foe,  .  .  194,  195 
Case  of  the  Rev.  Mr  Greenshields,  .  .  .  196—200 
Character  of  Lord  Grange,  ....  200 
Tyrannical  conduct  of  the  Presbyterians,  .  .  201 
Proceedings  of  the  Lord  Advocate  against  the  Episcopal  Chapels,  203 
Act  of  Toleration  passed,  ....  205 
Particulars  respecting  it,  .  .  .  .  206 — 209 
Despondency  of  the  Presbyterians,              .                 .                 209,210 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Consecration  of  the  Hon.  and  Rev.  Archibald  Campbell,           .  211 

Notices  of  him,                     ....  ib. 

Dr  Johnson's  anecdote  of  Bishop  Campbell,                .                 .  212 

Pecuniary  distress  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy,        .                 .  ib. 
Controversy  between  the  Rev.  Robert  Calder  and  Mr  John 

Anderson,  ....         213,214,215 

Mr  Thomas  Rhind,   a  Presbyterian  minister,  conforms  to 

the  Church,           .....  215 

Death  of  Queen  Anne,          .                 .                 .                 •  216 

Accession  of  George  I.                 .                 •                 •                 .  ib. 

Enterprise  of  1715,               .                 .                 .                 .  ib. 

Its  suppression,             .                 .                 •                 .                 .  ib. 
Proceedings  of  the  Government  against  the  Episcopal  Clergy,    217,  218 


CONTENTS.  XXI 

PAGE 

Act  of  Parliament  of  1719,         .                .  .                .219 

Consecration  of  Bishop  Gadderar,       .  .                .                 220 

Consecration  of  Bishops  Millar  and  Irvine,  .                 .           ib. 

Death  of  Bishop  Rose  of  Edinburgh,  .                  .                   ib. 

His  character,              .                 .                 .  .                 .221 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Meeting  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy  of  Edinburgh  after  the  inter- 
ment of  Bishop  Rose,  ....        222 
Extraordinary  proposal  to  govern  the  Church  by  a  College  of 

Bishops,        .....  223 

Their  acknowledgment  of  the  Bishops,       .  .  .  ib. 

Advice  of  Bishop  Falconer,  ...  ib. 

Bishop  Fullarton  chosen  Primus,  .  .  .         224 

Erroneous  account  by  Mr  Lockhart  of  Carnwath,  .  ib. 

Hostility  to  Bishop  Campbell,     ....         225 
Lockhart 's  correspondence  with  the  Chevalier  St  George,  225,  226 

The  Scottish  Bishops  address  the  Chevalier,      .  .  226 

The  consecration  of  Bishop  Freebairn  opposed  by  the  Bishops,  227 

The  College  Party,      .  .  .  .  .228 

Bishop  Falconer  elected  Diocesan  of  Forfar  and  Kincardine 

shires,  .....  ib. 

Bishop  Campbell  elected  Diocesan  of  Aberdeen,        .  .  ib. 

The  "  Usages" — account  of  the  controversy,       .  .  22i> — 231 

Consecration  of  Bishops  Cant  and  Freebairn,  .  .         233 

Consecration  of  Bishops  Duncan  and  Nome,      .  .  ib. 

Opposition  of  those  Bishops  to  the  College  Party,         .  .  ib. 

Mr  Lockhart  complains  of  Bishop  Gadderar  to  the  Chevalier,  ib. 

Dislike  of  the  Chevalier's  adherents  to  Bishops  Campbell  and 

Gadderar,  ....  234,  235 

Subserviency  of  the  College  Party  to  the  Chevalier,  .         236 

Mr  Lockhart's  reasons  for  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Nome,    237,  238 
The  Chevalier  writes  to  the  College  Party  recommending  cer- 
tain Presbyters  to  be  consecrated  Bishops,  .         238,  ! 
Interview  <>f  Bishop  Gadderar  with   the  College  Bishops  at 
*       Edinburgh,                   ....  23Q 


XX11  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

The  "  Usages"  again  discussed,                   .                •  239,  240 

Correspondence  of  Mr  Lockhart  with  the  Chevalier,  .        240 — 244 

Consecration  of  Bishops  Rose  and  Ouchterlonie,        .  .           ib. 

Death  of  Bishop  Fullarton,                   .                 .  •                   **• 

Bishop  Gadderar  the  only  Diocesan  then  in  Scotland,  .           ib. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Proceedings  of  the  Scottish  Bishops  at  the  death  of  Bishop  Ful- 
larton,               ....                 246,  247 

Bishop  Gadderar 's  opposition  to  the  College  Party,          .  247 
Bishop  Millar  attacked  by  Mr  Lockhart  of  Carnwath,               .  ib. 
Remonstrance  against  the  consecration  of  the  Rev.  John  Gillan,  ib. 
Wodrow's  account  of  Bishop  Gadderar's  proceedings  in  the  Dio- 
cese of  Aberdeen,                 ....  249 

Disputes  in  the  Church,  .  .  .  250 — 253 

Bishop  Millar  elected  Diocesan  of  Edinburgh,                .                .  253 
First  decisive  blow  to  the  College  Party  and  influence  of  the 

Chevalier,       .              .              .              .              .  ib. 

The  College  Party  refuse  to  confirm  the  election  of  Bishop  Millar,  ib. 

They  appoint  Bishop  Freebairn  to  superintend  the  Diocese,  ib. 
They  consecrate  the  Rev.  John  Gillan  and  the  Rev.  David  Ran- 

kine,       .                               ....  ib. 

The  Diocesan  Bishops  follow  up  the  advantages  they  gained,  254 
They  encourage  the  Presbyters  of  the  Dioceses  to  elect  their  own 

Bishops,         .            .                .                ...  255 

They  consecrate  Dr  Rattray  of  Craighall,  the  Rev.  William  Dun- 
bar, and  the  Rev.  Robert  Keith,  .  .  .  ib, 
Mr  Lockhart's  account  of  the  proceedings  of  the  College  Party,  255,  256 
Death  and  character  of  Bishop  Millar,  .  .  256 
Death  of  Bishop  Norrie,  ...  ib. 
Extraordinary  conduct  of  the  Presbyters,  .  .  ib. 
Election  and  consecration  of  Bishop  Lumsden,  .  257 
The  dispute  between  the  Diocesan  and  College  Bishops  adjusted 

by  the  Concordate  in  1732,                 .                  .                 .  ib% 

The  Articles  of  agreement,                .                .                .           257,  258 


CONTENTS.  XX1U 

PAGE 

Feuds  and  Dissensions  in  the  Presbyterian  Establishment,  258,  259 

Peace  restored  to  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  .             259 
Unfair  account  of  the  dispute  between  the  College  and  Diocesan 

Bishops  bj  Dr  Brown  of  Langton,          .                 .  259,  260 

Zeal  of  the  influential  laity  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  .             261 

Wodrow's  account,           .                              .                 .  .           ib. 

His  dread  of  the  English  Liturgy,     .                 .                 .  262 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Death  of  Bishop  Lumsden,         ....  263 

Death  of  Bishops  Duncan,  Rose,  and  Gadderar,  .  ib. 

Character  of  Bishop  Gadderar,  .  .  .  ib. 

He  is  succeeded  by  B     lop  Du     •»•■.  .  .  ib. 

Bishop  Keith  elected  Diocesan  of  Fife,  .  .  ib. 

Consecration  of  Bishop  White,         .  .  .  264 

Consecration  of  Bishop  William  Falconer,  .  .  ib. 

Death  of  Bishops  Gillan  and  Freebairn,  .  ib' 

Peaceful  state  of  the  Church,  .  •  .  205 

Death  of  Bishop  Ouchterlonie,  .  .  .  266 

Consecration  of  Bishop  Rait,  ib. 

Death  of  Bishop  Rattray,  the  Primus,  .  .  267 

His  character  and  Works,  .  .  .       267,  268 

Bishop  Keith  elected  Primus,  .  .  268 

Consecration  of  Bishop  Alexander,     ....  ib. 

Episcopal  Synod  of  1743,         .  ...  ib. 

Canons  enacted  therein,  .  .  .  268,  269 

These  Canons  offend  the  Presbyters  of  Edinburgh,  .  269 

Controversies  which  ensued,  .  .  .       269 — 276 

Bishop  Keith  remonstrates  with  Bishop  Smith,  276,  277,  278 

Bishop  Keith's  declaration  against  Bishop  Smith's  inter- 
ference in  the  affairs  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,      278,  279 
Bishop  Alexander's  declaration,  .  .  .      279,  280 

Third  Address  of  the  Presbyters  of  Edinburgh  to  the  Scot- 
tish Bishops,  ....     280,  281,  282 
Bishop  Keith's  letter  in  reply,  .  .  .      282 — 284 
Unpopularity  of  Bishop  Keith,    ....         285 


Xxiv  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

The  Enterprise  of  1745,  287 

Imprisonment  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Forbes  and  others,  .          288 
Zeal  of  an  Episcopal  clergyman  after  the  Battle  of  Prestonpans,         ib. 

Suppression  of  the  Enterprise,     .                 ■                 •  .          ib. 

Cruelties  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,                . .                 •  289 

Grief  of  the  adherents  of  the  exiled  Dynasty,             .  •        290 

Episcopal  Chapels  destroyed,               .                .                •  291 
Severe  Act  of  Parliament  against  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church 

in  1746                 .                 •                 •                 •  •          ih' 

Penalties  inflicted,              .                .                •  u  292 

Political  privileges  forfeited  by  the  Act,    .                 .  •        293 

Consecration  of  Bishop  Gerard,         .                .                •  294 

Prosecutions  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy,         .                .  294,  295 

Act  of  1748  against  the  Church,        ...  295 

Opposition  to  it  in  Parliament,                    .                 •  •           *»• 

Speech  of  Bishop  Maddox  of  Worcester,           .                .  296 

Speech  of  Bishop  Sherlock  of  London,       .                 .  •         297 

Speech  of  Bishop  Seeker  of  Oxford*                   .                 .  ib. 

Speech  of  Lord  Sandys,            ....  298 

Objects  of  the  Act  of  1748,              ...  299 

The  erection  of "  qualified"  Chapels,        .                 .  •           300 
Distresses  of  the  Clergy  and  their  people,         .             .      301,  302,  303 

Imprisonment  of  the  Rev.  John  Skinner,                 .  .           303 

Prosecution  of  the  Rev.  James  Connachar,      .                 .  305—308 

Prosecution  of  the  Rev.  Walter  Stewart,                 .  .  308,  309 

Death  of  Bishop  Keith,    ....  309 

His  literary  Works,                  .                 .                 •  •             310 

Consecration  of  Bishop  Edgar,         ...  ib. 

Death  of  George  II.                 ....  311 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Accession  of  George  III.                 .                 ■                 •  312 

Prosecutions  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy  discouraged.  .             313 

State  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,         .                 .  313,  314,  315 


CONTENTS.  XXV 

PAGE 

Religious  State  of  Scotland  at  the  Accession  of  George  III.  315,316,  317 
Prevalence  of  Sectaries  in  Scotland,  .  .  317,  318 

Prosperous  state  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  .  318 

Account  of  the  consecration  of  a  Presbyterian  burying-ground 

in  Edinburgh  by  Bishop  Falconar,  .  318,  319,  320 

Revisal  of  the  Office  for  the  Administration  of  the  Holy  Com- 
munion, ....  320 
Consecration  of  Bishops  Forbes,  Kilgour,  Rose,  and  Petrie,  321 
Death  of  Bishop  Falconar,  .  .  .  ib. 
Death  of  Bishop  Rait,  ...  ib. 
Consecration  of  Bishop  Innes,  .  .  .  ib. 
Consecration  of  Bishop  John  Skinner,  .  .  322 
Death  of  the  Chevalier  St  George,  .  .  323 
Feelings  of  his  adherents,             .                 .                 .                         324 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

State  of  the  Church,             ....  325 

Consecration  of  Dr  Seabury  as  the  first  Bishop  in  the 

United  States  of  America,  .  .  326,  327,  328 

Controversy  on  that  event  in  the  "  Gentleman's  Maga- 
zine," ....  328,  329,  330 

Reception  of  Bishop  Seabury  in  America,  .         330,  331,  332 

Alleged  application  of  the  Rev.  John  Wesley  to  the  Scottish 

Bishops  to  consecrate  the  Rev.  Dr  Coke  for  America,  333 

Consecration  of  Bishops  Macfarlane,  Abernethy  Drummond, 

and  Strachan,                 ....  334 

The  repeal  of  the  Penal  Laws  projected,                                  .  ib. 

Sentiments  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,                  .  ib. 

Death  of  Prince  Charles  Edward,             .               .                 .  335 

Meeting  of  the  Scottish  Bishops  and  Clergy  at  Aberdeen,  ib. 

They  resolve  to  pray  for  George  III.  and  the  Royal  Family 

by  name,                   ....  336 

Loyalty  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,            .               .  ib. 

Bishop  Skinner  elected  Primus,                  .                   .                  .  ib. 

Death  of  Bishop  Kilgour,                   .                               .  ib. 

Memorial  transmitted  to  Lord  Sydney,                   ,  if>. 


XXVI  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Addresses  sent  to  the  Archbishops  of  Canterbury  and  York,  336 

Reply  of  Lord  Sydney,                 .                 .                 .             .  ib. 

First  draught  of  the  Bill  to  repeal  the  Penal  Laws,           .  337 

Proceedings  of  the  friends  of  the  Church  in  that  matter,  338 

Opposition  of  Lord  Chancellor  Thurlow,                .                 .  ib. 

The  first  Bill  refused  in  the  House  of  Lords,                 .                 .  ib. 

The  Bill  again  brought  forward  in  1791,               .                 .  ib. 

The  counties,  cities,  and  royal  burghs,  petition  in  its  favour,      .  ib. 

Proceedings  in  the  House  of  Lords,  .  .  .  339 
Subscription  to   the  Thirty-Nine  Articles  recommended   by 

Bishop  Horsley  and  others,             .                 .                 .  ib. 

The  Thirty-Nine  Articles  at  once  adopted,                   .                 .  340 

Repeal  of  the  Penal  Laws,  .  .  .  ib. 
Abstract  of  the  Act,  .  340,  341 
Testimonials  presented  by  Bishop  Skinner  to  the   Rev.  Dr 

Gaskin,  Mr  Justice  Park,  and  William  Steven,  Esq.          .  ib. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Synod  of  Laurencekirk,         ....  342 

Projected  institution  of  the  Widows'  Fund,  .  .         ib. 

Consecration  of  Bishop  Watson,  .  .  .  343 

Diocesan  Synod  of  Aberdeen,         .  .  .         ib. 

Loyalty  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  at  the  time  of  the 

French  Revolution,        ....  344 

Exertions  of  Bishop  Skinner  to  effect  the  union  of  the  Clergy 
of  English  and  Irish  ordination  with  the  Scottish  Episco- 
pal Church,  ....       344,  345,  346 
Proposed  Consecration  of  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Boucher  as  a 

Scottish  Bishop,  ....  346 

Bishop  Skinner's  correspondence  on  the  subject,  .  346,  347 

Mr  Boucher  declines  to  be  consecrated,  .  .  348 

Bishop  Skinner's  Letter  to  Sir  William  Forbes,  Bart.  347,  348 

Institution  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Friendly  Society,  .  348,  349 
Consecration  of  Bishop  Jolly,  ....  349 
Sentiments  of  Bishop  Skinner  respecting  the  consecration  of 

Bishop  Jolly,  .....       350 


CONTENTS.  XXV 11 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Bishop  Skinner's  Publications,            .                 .                 •  351 
His  successful  exertions  in  promoting  the  union  of  the  English 

Clergy  officiating  in  Scotland  with  the  Church,         .  352 

He  publishes  his  "  Primitive  Truth  and  Order  Vindicated,"  353 

Cause  of  the  publication  of  that  Work,             .             .                 •  *&• 

Convention  of  the  Church  held  at  Laurencekirk,                 .  356 
The    Rev.   Dr  Sandford  of  Edinburgh  acknowledges  Bishop 

Skinner  as  his  Diocesan,  ...»  &• 
His  reasons  for  uniting  with  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  356 — 360 
Other  Clergy  imitate  his  example,       .                 .                 .         360, 361 

Exertions  of  Sir  William  Forbes,  Bart.     .                 .                 .  361 

His  character,      .....  ib. 

His  munificence  to  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,                    .  362 
St  John's  Chapel,  Edinburgh,  erected  chiefly  by  the  exertions  of 

Sir  William's  eldest  son,  Sir  William  Forbes,  Bart.  .  ib. 
St  Paul's  Chapel,  Edinburgh,  erected  chiefly  by  the  exertions  of 

Sir  William's  second  son,  the  Hon.  Lord  Medwyn,  .  ib. 
Conduct  of  the  Rev.  Dr  Grant  of  Dundee,  .  .  ib. 
He  is  reproved  by  Bishop  Horsley,  .  .  .  ib. 
Law  action  raised  in  the  Court  of  Session  against  the  congrega- 
tion in  Banff,  .....  36-4 
Munificent  subscription  obtained  by  Bishop  Horsley  to  defray 

the  legal  expenses,  .  .  .  364,  365 

Consecration  of  Dr  Sandford  as  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,       .  365 

His  first  Confirmation,                  ....  366 

Letter  of  Sir  William  Forbes,  Bart,  to  Bishop  Skinner,  ib. 
Sir  William  Forbes,  Bart,  and  Colin  Mackenzie,  Esq.  project 

the  Scottish  Episcopal  Fund,       .  .  .         366,  367 

The  Committee  of  that  Fund  in  London,                     .                 .  367 
Death  of  Sir  William  Forbes,  Bart.,  William  Steven,  Esq.,  and 

Bishop  Horsley,                   ....  ib. 

Death  of  the  Kev.  John  Skinner,          .                   .                  .  ib. 

His  character,  learning,  and  acquirements,  .  .        3ti$ 

Death  of  Bishop  Watson,     ....  369 

Hie  character,  .   .  .  .  •        370 


XXV111  CONTENTS.   - 

TAGE 

Consecration  of  Bishops  Torry  and  Gleig,           .                 •  370 

Death  of  Bishops  Abernethy  Drummond  and  Strachan,             .  ib. 

Character  of  the  former,       .                 .                 •                 •  371 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Loyal  Address  of  the  Scottish  Bishops  and  Clergy  to  George  III.  372 
First  order  issued  by  the  Privy  Council  to  the  Bishops  and 

Clergy,                     .                 .                 .                 .                 .  ib. 

Synod  of  Aberdeen,                  ....  373 

Business  of  that  Synod,                    .                 .                 •  374 

Services  of  Bishop  Skinner,                      .                 .                 •  375 

Letter  of  Bishop  Walker  to  the  Rev.  John  Skinner,              .  ib 
The  Rev.  Martin  J.  Routh,  D.D.  President  of  Magdalen  College, 
Oxford,  dedicates  his  "  Reliquiae  Sacrae"  to  the  Scottish 

Bishops  and  Clergy,             ....  376 

Death  of  Bishop  Skinner,                 .                 .                 •  377 

Sketch  of  his  life  and  character,              .                 .                 .  378 
State  of  the  Church  in  the  city  of  Aberdeen  about  that  period,  370,  380 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Consecration  of  the  Rev.  William  Skinner,  .  .  381 
Bishop  Gleig  elected  Primus,  .  .  .  ib. 
Death  of  Bishop  Macfarlane,  .  .  .  ib. 
Consecration  of  Bishop  Low,  .  .  .  ib. 
The  Bishops  and  Clergy  address  George  IV.  at  his  visit  to  Edin- 
burgh in  1822,  ....  382 
Consecration  of  Bishop  Luscombe,  .  .  .  383 
Synod  of  Laurencekirk,  .  .  •  384 
Synod  of  Edinburgh,  .  .  .  .  ib. 
Death  of  Bishop  Sandford,  .  .  .  ib. 
His  character,  ....  384,  385 
Consecration  of  Bishop  Walker,  .  .  385 
State  of  the  Church,              .                .                .               386, 387, 388 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Bishop  Uleig's  statement  of  the  constitution  of  the  Scottish  Epis- 
copal Church,  .  .  .  31 0  391 


CONTENTS.  XXIX 

PAGE 

Institution  of  the  Gaelic  Episcopal  Society  chiefly  by  Bishop  Low,      392 
Sympathizing  Address  to  the  Clergy  of  the  Irish  Church,  ib. 

Consecration  of  Bishops  Russell  and  Moir,  .  .  393 

Bishop  Gleig  resigns  the  office  of  Primus,  .  .         ib. 

Bishop  Walker  elected  Primus,  ib. 

Sermon  by  the  Very  Rev.  E.  B.  Ramsay,  M.A.  at  the  consecra- 
tion of  Bishops  Russell  and  Moir,  .  .  393 
Extracts  from  it,  .  .  .  .  394, 395, 396 
Death  of  Bishop  Jolly,  ....  396 
His  character,  ....  397 
The  Diocese  of  Moray  annexed  to  Ross  and  Argyll  under  Bishop 

Low,  ....  398 

Synod  of  Edinburgh,  ....  399 

Canon  for  founding  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  Society,       399,  400 
Objects  of  the  Society,         .  .  .  400,401,402 

First  Patron  and  Vice-Patrons,  .  .  402, 403 

First  Public  Meeting  of  the  Society,  .  .  403 

First  stated  Annual  Meeting  of  the  General  Committee,  .  ib. 

First  stated  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Society,       .  .  404 

Bishop  Low  presides  and  addresses  the  Meeting,         .  ib. 

Report  read  by  the  Very  Rev.  E.  B.  Ramsay,  .         404 — 414 

Speech  of  Adam  Urquhart,  Esq.,  Advocate,  .  414,  415 

Pastoral  Letter  of  1839,       ....  415 

Act  of  Parliament  in  favour  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  in 

1840,  '        .  .  .  .  416 

Speech  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  in  the  House  of  Lords,       417 
Death  of  Bishop  Gleig,         .  .  .  .  418 

His  character,  ....  ib. 

Death  of  Bishop  Walker,     .  .  .  .  419 

His  character,  ....  ib. 

Con<e<  ration  of  the  Very  Rov.  Dr  Terrot,  .  .  \'J\ 

Bishop  Skinner  elected  Primus,  .  .  ib. 

Members  of  the  Episcopal  College  iii  1842,        .  .  L22 

Visit  of  Queen  Victoria  and  Prince  Albert  to  Scotland,  </>. 

The  Very  Rev.  B.  B.  Ramsay  officiates  before  her  Majestj  in 

|):ilkeith  r.il.,.  .  .  .  ft, 


XXX  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 
Misrepresentations  of  the  Presbyterians  and  others,  422,  423,  424 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

State  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,      .                 .  426 

Diocese  of  Edinburgh,          ....  ib. 

Speech  of  the  Right  Hon.  W.  E.  Gladstone,  M.P.      .  427 

Diocese  of  Glasgow,              ....  428 

Diocese  of  Brechin,       ....  ib. 

Speech  of  Erskine  Douglas  Sandford,  Esq.,  Advocate,       .  429 

Diocese  of  Aberdeen,    ....  430 

United  Diocese  of  Dunkeld,  Dunblane,  and  Fife,                 .  ib. 

United  Diocese  of  Moray,  Ross,  and  Argyll,                .  ib. 

Speech  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Montgomery,               .                 .  431 

Episcopal  Nobility  of  Scotland,                      .                 .  432 

State  of  Presbyterianism  in  England,                    .                 .  433,  434 

Annual  Meeting  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  Society,  436 

Speech  of  the  Right  Hon.  W.  E.  Gladstone,  M.P.  .  436,  437,  438 
Speech  of  Sir  John  M'Niel,                  .                                 .439 

Institutions  connected  with  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  ib. 

Anderson's  Mortification,     ....  ib. 

Pantonian  Fund,           ....  440 

Episcopal  Free  School,         .                 .                 .  441 

Scottish  Episcopal  Friendly  Society,  .  .  441,  442 
Scottish  Episcopal  Fund,     .                 .                .                442,  443,  444 

Scottish  Episcopal  Church  Society,               .                 .  .       444 

Third  Annual  Meeting,  ....  445 
Speech  of  Bishop  Terrot,  .  .  .  446,  447,  448 
Speech  of  the  Rev.  Henry  Mackenzie  of  St  James',  Bermond- 

sey,  Surrey,            .                         '         .                 .  449,  450 

The  Snell  Exhibitions  at  Oxford,     .                 .                 .  450 

Extracts  from  Mr  Snell's  Will,    .                 .                 .  451-455 

Extracts  from  Parliamentary  Reports,                .                 .  455, 456 

The  conditions  for  qualification,    .                 .                 .  .       456 

Gross  misapplication  of  the  Founder's  intentions,               .  457 

Instances  of  these  misapplications,                .                 .  458,  459 


CONTENTS.  XXXl 

PAGE 

Answers  from  the  University  of  Glasgow  to  the   University 

Commissioners,      .....       460 
Injustice  of  presenting  Presbyterians  and  Sectarians  to  the 

Snell  Exhibitions,  .  .  .  .461 

Trinity  College,  ....  ib. 

Violent  opposition  to  its  erection,  .  .  .       462 

Folly  of  this  display  of  bigotry  by  the  Presbyterians,  .       462,  463 

Necessity  of  such  an  Academical  Institution  in  the  Scottish 

Episcopal  Church,  .  .  .  463, 464 

Failure  of  the  clamour  against  it,         .  .  .  465 

Address  of  the  Committee,  .  .  466 

The  Synodal  Letter  of  the  Scottish  Bishops,  .        467,  468 

Proposals  for  establishing  Trinity  College,  468,  469,  470 

List  of  some  of  the  first  S  .  470,  471 

Overture  of  the  Presbytery  of  Perth  to  the  General  Assembly 

against  the  erection  of  Trinity  College  in  that  city,  472,  473 

Speech  of  Mr  Andrew  Gray,         .  .  .  473 

His  quotations  from  the  writings  of  Episcopal  authors,      473,  474,  475 
The  Citizens  and  Town  Council  of  Perth  disregard  the  Overture 

and  Mr  Gray's  Speech,  .  .  .  476 

Proposal  of  Sir  William  Drysdale  in  the  Town  Council  of  Edin- 
burgh, .....  477 
General  Observations  on  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,            477,  478 
Means  of  promoting  its  prosperity,                        .                 .        478,  47(J 
Concluding  extract  from  Bishop  Russell's  Charge  to  the  Episcopal 

Clergy  of  the  City  and  L>ia«.;  ict  of  Glasgow  in  1842,     .     479— k  2 


APPENDIX. 


Statistic*  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  from  the  R 
ports  of  the  Commissioners  to  inquire  into  the  State 
of  Religious  Instruction  in  Scotland,        .  .         485 

1.  Diocese  of  Aberdeen,  .  .  .  ;/, 

2.  CTnited  Diocese  of  Dujtkeld,  Dueblahe,  and  Fr?B,    .        492 

3.  United  Diocese  of  Mouay,  Robb,  and  Argyll,  I 


XXX11  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

4.  Diocese  of  Brechin,     .  .  .  .  .      498 

5.  Diocese  of  Glasgow,  .  .  .  501 

6.  Diocese  of  Edinburgh,  .  .  .  506 

Religious  State  of  Edinburgh,  .  .  513 

Religious  State  of  Glasgow,  .  .  .  514 

II.  State  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  1708,  .  515 

III.  Contemporary  Sketch  of  the  State  of  the  Scottish  Episco- 
pal Church  from  1715  to  1745,  from  a  MS.  in  the  Advo- 
cates' Library,  Edinburgh,  .  .  .  517 

Prosecutions  of  the  Clergy,  .  .  .  518,519 

Results  to  the  Church  on  the  death  of  Bishop  Rose,  .  521 

Proceedings  of  the  College  Party,  .  .  522 

The  "  Usages,"  .  .  .     .  .523 

Complaints  against  Bishop  Gadderar,         -    .  .  525 

Address  of  the  College  Bishops  to  the  Clergy  and  Laity,    527,  528,  529 
Terms  proposed  for  an  adjustment  of  the  dispute  between  the 

College  Party  and  the  Diocesan  Bishops,  .  531 

Death  of  several  of  the  Bishops,  .  .  533 

State  of  the  Church,  ...  .  .         53^—538 

The  Enterprise  of  1745,  .  .  .  538, 539 

Bishop  Rankine's  condemnation  of  the  Usages,  .         539 — 545 

IV.  Code  of  Canons  of  the   Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  as  re- 

vised, amended,  and  enacted,  in  the  Synod  of  Edin- 
burgh, 1838,  .  .  546—575 

V.  Succession  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,         .  576 

2 


INTRODUCTORY. 


The  reader  will  perceive  from  this  volume  that  a  regular  succes- 
sion of  Bishops  has  been  carefully  preserved  in  Scotland  since  the 
Revolution — that  a  branch  of  the  Church  Catholic  has  since  that  pe- 
riod existed  to  the  present  time,  notwithstanding  the  vicissitudes, 
depressions,  and  severities  to  which  it  was  long  subjected — and  that 
in  these  days  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  well  deserves  the 
attention,  respect,  and  sympathy  of  the  Church  of  England.  The 
following  facts  are  also  deducible,  if  any  reliance  is  to  be  placed  on 
historical  documents — 1.  That  at  the  Revolution  the  Scottish  people 
were  not  generally,  except  in  a  few  districts,  so  much  inclined  to  Pres- 
byterianism  as  is  generally  supposed :  2.  That  it  was  much  more 
difficult  to  overthrow  the  Established  Episcopal  Church  than  is  ad- 
mitted by  its  opponents  :  3.  That  if  that  Church  was  at  the  pre- 
sent time  the  Establishment  of  Scotland,  it  would  be  supported 
in  its  temporalities  precisely  in  the  same  manner  as  the  one  by  which 
it  was  supplanted,  so  that  its  ejection  was  no  pecuniary  relief  to  the 
people. 

These  are  the  principles  elicited  in  the  following  narrative,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  more  important  point — the  Apostolical  and  Primitive  con- 
stitution of  the  Church.  Two  statements,  repeatedly  brought  for- 
ward with  extraordinary  pertinacity  by  certain  of  the  Presbyterian 
Establishment)  require  to  be  noticed  in  these  introductory  remarks 
— the  one,  that   the   Scottish  Episcopal  Church  was  "  founded"  by 

Archbishop  Laud;  the  other,  thai  the  Scottish  Liturgy  and  Book 
of  Canons  were  drawn  up  by  thai  Primate. 


XXXIV  INTRODUCTORY. 

It  is  indeed  a  novelty  to  be  informed  that  Archbishop  Laud 
"  founded"  any  Church  whatever,  and  indicates  an   extraordinary 
hallucination,  ignorance,  or  perversion  of  history,  and  especially  of 
the  Archbishop's  life  and  principles.     The  English  Primate  had  no 
more  to  do  with  the  present  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  than  he  had 
with  "founding"  the   Church  of  Jerusalem,  the   Church  of  Eng- 
land, or  the  Church  of  Rome.     This  will  appear  by  a  simple  state- 
ment of  the  facts.     If  by  this  "  founding"  of  a  church,  our  Pres- 
byterian opponents  maintain  that  Archbishop  Laud  assisted  at  the 
first  consecration  of  Bishops,  and  was  thereby  one  of  the  parties  as- 
sociated in  extending  the  Episcopal  succession  into  a  country  where 
it  became  extinct  at  the  Reformation,  though  this  is  a  very  novel 
notion  of  the  origin  of  any  National  Church,  history  completely  sets 
at  rest  that  statement.     In  1610  Archbishop  Spottiswoode,  then  of 
Glasgow,  and  the  Bishops  of  Galloway  and  Brechin,  were  consecrated 
in  the  chapel  of  London  House,  and  this  was  the  first  consecration 
held  in  England  to  impart  the  succession  to  the  Scottish  Church. 
Now,  Archbishop  Laud  was  not  advanced  to  the  episcopate  till  1620, 
when  he  was  nominated  Bishop  of  St  David's,  and  he  therefore  could 
have  no  possible  connection  with  the  consecration  of  the  Scottish 
Bishops  ten  years  previous,  when  he  was  simply  Rector  of  West  Til- 
bury in  Essex,  and  of  Cuckstone  in  Kent.  Laud  accompanied  James 
in  his  visit  to  Scotland  in  1617,  but  he  is  accused  of  no  more  than 
urging  the  King  to  introduce  a  liturgical  form  of  prayer  in  the  public 
worship  of  the  Scottish  Church.     When  Bishop  of  London,  he  was 
a  second  time  in  Scotland,  at  the  coronation  of  Charles  I.  in  1633, 
and  on  the  30th  of  June  preached  before  the  King  in  the  Chapel- 
Royal  of  Holyrood  Palace.     Before  the  departure  of  Charles,  a 
Committee  of  the  Scottish  Bishops  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  Li- 
turgy, and  to  correspond  with  Laud  ;  and  this  is  all  the  intercourse 
he  appears  to  have  had  with  ecclesiastical  affairs  in  the  North.     On 
the  10th  of  January  1644-5,  he  was  brought  to  the  scaffold  by  his 
enemies.     At  the  Restoration  only  one  of  the  Bishops  of  the  Spot- 
tiswoode line  was  alive,  yet  though  they  had  all,  or  a  majority  of 
them,  been  in  life,  and  though  the  succession  of  the  present  Scot- 


INTRODUCTORY.  XXXV 

tish  Bishops  were  derived  from  that  line,  Archbishop  Laud  could 
have  no  connection  with  the  consecration  of  Spottiswoode  and  his 
brethren,  because  he  was  not  a  Bishop  till  ten  years  afterwards.  The 
very  circumstance  of  old  Bishop  SydserfF  being  the  only  surviving 
Prelate  at  the  restoration  of  the  first  succession,  rendered  the  se- 
cond consecration  in  Westminster  Abbey  in  1661  indispensable, 
upwards  of  seventeen  years  after  Archbishop  Laud  was  in  his 
grave.  Surely  we  will  now  hear  no  more  of  the  Archbishop  as  the 
"  founder"  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church — a  Church  which  was 
almost  extinct  at  the  Restoration,  otherwise  an  ignorance  will  be 
exhibited  truly  contemptible.  If  there  was  any  "  founder"  at  all,  in 
the  Presbyterian  sense  of  the  term,  it  must  be  applied  to  those  Eng- 
lish Bishops  who  consecrated  Archbishop  Sharp  and  his  brethren. 

As  to  the  other  charge,  that  Archbishop  Laud  prepared  the 
Scottish  Liturgy  and  Book  of  Canons,  this  also  is  altogether  un- 
founded, and  he  had  as  much  to  do  with  either  as  with  the  com- 
piling of  the  Liturgy  and  Canons  of  the  Church  of  England. 
These  were  the  work  of  the  Scottish  Bishops  themselves  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  I.  previous  to  1637,  for  there  is  the  most  un- 
doubted evidence  that  what  are  often  called  Laud's  Canons  and 
Prayer-Book  were  of  home  compilation.  This  is  admitted  by  Dr 
George  Cook,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland."*  The 
allegation  against  the  Archbishop  was  aggravated  by  additional 
falsehoods  in  the  "  Charge  of  the  Scottish  Commissioners  against 
Canterburie,"  printed  in  1641,  and  is  inserted  in  the  Archbishop's 
History  of  his  own  Troubles  and  Trials,  where  it  is  answered 
in  every  paragraph  by  himself  in  the  most  conclusive  manner. 
Kirkton,  indeed,  declares — "  I  have  seen  the  principal  book  eer- 
ie.ted  with  Bishop  Laud's  own  hand,  where,  in  every  place  which 
he  corrected,  lie  brings  the  word  as  near  the  Missal  as  English  can 

lie  to  Latin."      Now  this  Pi-.  lian  writer  was   utterly  ignorant 

el' tlie  matter.      If  the  King  sent  dawn   the  Liturgy  to  Scotland,   it 
WS  t   snit  up  to  England,  and   as   to   the  lion   that    it  v 

*   V..1.  ii.  ,,. 


XXXVI  INTRODUCTORY. 

corrected  with  the  Archbishop's  own  hand  to  bring  it  as  near  as 
possible  to  the  Roman  Missal,  an  examination  of  the  book,  which 
is  a  most  admirable  "  form  of  sound  words,"  is  a  complete  refuta- 
tion. The  composition,  or  rather  compilation,  was  exclusively  Scot- 
tish, and  the  Archbishop,  with  Bishops  Juxon  and  Wren,  merely 
revised  it — the  last  named  Prelate,  according  to  Clarendon — (( very 
learned,  and  particularly  versed  in  the  old  Liturgies  of  the  Greek 
and  Latin  Churches."  The  Scottish  Bishops  who  framed  the 
Liturgy  and  the  Book  of  Canons  were  Archbishop  Spottiswoode 
of  St  Andrews,  Archbishop  Lindsay  of  Glasgow,  Dr  James  Wed- 
derburn  of  Dunblane,  Dr  John  Guthrie  of  Moray,  Dr  John  Max- 
well of  Ross,  and  Dr  Walter  Whiteford  of  Brechin.  Though 
urged  to  adopt  the  English  Liturgy,  they  evinced  repugnance  to 
it  on  account  of  the  supposed  prejudices  of  the  people,  who  might 
have  thought  it  a  sacrifice  of  the  ancient  independence  of  the  Scot- 
tish Church,  as  would  doubtless  have  been  successfully  urged  by 
the  Presbyterians  and  Covenanters.  And  yet,  though  all  the 
odium  fell  upon  Archbishop  Laud,  and  his  moderation  in  the  matter 
was  alleged  against  him  at  his  trial  as  a  most  heinous  crime,  he 
was  so  anxious  that  nothing  should  be  done  in  opposition  to  the 
laws  and  statutes  of  the  kingdom,  that  he  had  repeatedly  stated, 
in  his  correspondence  with  the  Scottish  Bishops,  that  "  it  was 
their  part  to  be  certain  that  they  should  propose  nothing  to  the 
King  in  the  business  contrary  to  the  laws  of  the  land,  which  he 
could  not  be  thought  to  understand,  and  that  they  should  never  put 
any  thing  in  execution  without  the  consent  of  the  Privy  Council." 
In  connection  with  the  preceding  statements,  to  a  certain  extent, 
an  article  was  printed  in  the  Christian  Observer  for  October 
1842  (No.  58  of  the  New  Series),  under  the  title  of  "View  of 
Public  Affairs,"  and  ostensibly  written  by  the  Editor.  As  this  pe- 
riodical is  supported  by  a  section  of  the  Church  of  England,  some 
observations  are  not  inapplicable.  The  article  now  mentioned  is 
grounded  on  the  Queen's  Visit  to  Scotland,  and  its  author  views 
the  Sovereign's  non-attendance  at  Presbyterian  religious  worship 
in  the   edifice  in  Edinburgh  called  the  High  Church  in  a  very 


INTRODUCTORY.  XXXVI 

proper  and  judicious  manner ;  but  he  thereafter  rambles  into  a  va- 
riety of  subjects  connected  with  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  is 
evidently  impregnated  with  extraordinary  fears  and  peculiar  opi- 
nions, assails  the  Scottish  Bishops  for  designating  themselves — "  We, 
the  Bishops  of  the  Reformed  Catholic  Church  in  Scotland" — in 
their  Synodal  Letter  respecting  Trinity  College ;  and  attacks  Bishop 
Russell  of  Glasgow,  and  Bishop  Terrot  of  Edinburgh,  for  sundry 
opinions  alleged  to  be  maintained  in  the  Charges  of  these  Prelates 
to  their  Clergy,  published  in  1842.  All  these  admonitions,  remon- 
strances, and  denunciations,  are  expressed  in  the  most  friendly  mode 
of  fraternizing  with  the  Presbyterian  Establishment,  and  are  very 
ingeniously  connected  with  "  Oxford  Tract arianism,"  with  which, 
according  to  the  Editor  of  the  Christian  Observer,  the  Scot- 
tish Episcopal  Church  is  deeply  imbued.     He  then  proceeds — 

"  But  we  have  one  word  more  in  reply  to  those  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  in  Scotland  who  are  ruining  her  cause  by  making  her  the  ally 
and  Coryphaeus  of  Tractarianism,  and  that  is,  that  their  own  ecclesias- 
tical descent  is  not  so  free  from  genealogical  difficulty  that  they  should 
be  the  first  to  unchurch  other  churches.  We  will  quote  a  passage  from 
the  pen  of  Dr  Bernard  in  1658,  in  illustration  of  Archbishop  Usher's 
judgment  of  the  ordinations  in  the  Reformed  Churches.  ■  If  the  ordina- 
tions of  Presbyters  in  such  places  where  Bishops  cannot  be  had  were 
not  valid,  the  late  Bishops  of  Scotland  [those  of  the  Spottiswoode  line] 
had  a  hard  task  to  maintain  themselves  to  be  Bishops,  who  were  not 
(even)  priests,  for  their  ordination  was  no  other.  And  for  this  passage 
in  the  History  of  Scotland,  wrote  by  the  Archbishop  of  St  Andrews 
[Spottiswoode],  it  is  observable,  that  when  the  Scots  Bishops  were  to  be 
consecrated  by  the  Bishops  of  London,  Ely,  and  Bath,  hero  at  London 
House,  anno  1609,  he  saith  a  question  was  moved  by  Dr  Andrews, 
Bishop  of  Ely,  touching  the  consecration  of  the  Scottish  Bishops,  who, 
as  he  said,  must  first  be  ordained  Presbyters,  as  honing  received  no  or- 
ation from  a  Bishop.  Tho  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Dr  Bancroft, 
who  was  by,  maintained  '  that  thereof  there  was  no  necessity,  seeing-, 
where  Bishops  could  not  he  had,  the  ordination  given  by  Presbyters 
must  be  esteemed  lawful,  otherwise  that  it  might  he  doubted  if  there 
wric  anv  lawful  vocation  in  most  of  the  Reformed  churches.'  This 
was  applauded  to  by  the  other  Bishop  Ely  acquiesced,  and  at  i 
day,  and  in  the  place  appointed,  the  three  Scottish  Bishops  were  cona 
••rated."  " — '•  Our  Northern  Brethren,"  adds  the  Editor  of  the  Gmu 
<  Observer,  "  musl  qo1  be  surprised  that  we  remind  them  of  these  thing 


XXXVlii  INTRODUCTORY. 

when  they  are  so  loudly  boasting  of  their  superiority  over  the  Anglican 
Church,  in  that  they  have  from  the  first  escaped  the  '  malign  influence'* 
to  which  we  were  exposed,  and  have  ever  held  those  opinions  respecting 
apostolical  succession,  sacramental  justification,  and  so  forth,  which 
have  recently  '  revived  in  the  South.' 

Now,  without  reference  to  the  opinion  of  Archbishop  Bancroft 
respecting  the  consecration  of  Archbishop  Spottiswoode  and  bis 
brethren,  that  "  where  Bishops  could  not  be  had,   the  ordination 
given  by  presbyters  must  be  esteemed  lawful"— the  validity  of  which 
cannot  be  admitted  for  a  moment,  even  though  it  hazards  the  "  law- 
ful vocation  in  most  of  the  Reformed  Churches"— surely  the  Editor 
of  the  Christian  Observer  ought  to  have  made  himself  better  ac- 
quainted with  historical  facts  before  he  alleged  of  the  Scottish  Epis- 
copal Church,  that  "  their  own  ecclesiastical  descent  is  not  so  free 
from  genealogical  difficulty  that  they  should  be  the  first  to  un- 
church other  churches."     He  is  evidently  altogether  ignorant  of  the 
consecration  of  the  Scottish  Bishops  in  Westminster  Abbey  in  1661, 
from  whom  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  derive  "  their  ecclesiasti- 
cal descent,"  and  about  which  there  cannot  be  the  least  "  genealo- 
gical difficulty"  in  the  mind  of  any  man  of  the  most  ordinary  com- 
prehension.    The  ignorance  of  the  Editor  of  the  Christian  Ob- 
server of  the  consecrations  of  1661,  of  which  it  appears  he  never 
heard,  is  proved  by  his  passage  from  the  "  pen  of  Dr  Bernard," 
who,  let  it  be  noted,  wrote  in  1658,  two  years  before  the  Restora- 
tion of  Charles  II.,  and  four  years  before  Archbishop  Sharp  and  his 
brethren  were  consecrated  in  Westminster  Abbey.     So  far,  there- 
fore, as  Dr  Bernard  is  concerned,  the  extract  from  his  "  pen"  is  in- 
telligible, but  it  is  different  when  adopted  one  hundred  and  eighty 
years  after  the  consecration  of  1661,  in  reference  to  the  "  ecclesias- 
tical descent"  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church.     There  is  no  more 
"  genealogical  difficulty"  in  the  matter,  than  in  tracing  the  "  eccle- 
siastical descent"  of  every  Archbishop  and  Bishop  of  the  Church  of 
England  since  the  Restoration.     With  the  Spottiswoode  line  of  the 
succession  of  Bishops  the  present  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  never 

*  These  words  are  quoted  from'  the  Charge  delivered  to  the'  Episcopal  Clergy  of 
the  District  of  Glasgow  by  Bishop  Russell,  in  1842. 


INTRODUCTORY.  XXXIX 

had  the  slightest  connection ;  the  last  representative  of  that  suc- 
cession was,  as  repeatedly  stated,  the  old  Bishop  of  Galloway,  who 
died  in  the  See  of  Orkney  in  1633  ;  and  it  is  therefore  hoped  that 
the  Editor  of  the  Christian  Observer  will  accept  of  this  informa- 
tion,   apparently  unknown   to  him,    on    Scottish  Episcopal   mat- 
ters, before  he  again  lectures  his  "  Northern  brethren"  about  "  ec- 
clesiastical descent"  and  "  genealogical  difficulty."     This  journalist 
should,  moreover,  remember  that  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church 
does  not  "  unchurch  other  churches."     Those  "  churches,"  if  they 
are  entitled  to  be  so  called,  "  unchurch"  themselves,  who  refuse  to 
acknowledge  the  uninterrupted  succession  of  Bishops,  and  the  three 
orders  of  Bishops,  Priests,  and  Deacons.     He  must  also  be  inform- 
ed that  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  is  not  "  the  ally  and  Cory- 
phaeus of  Tractarianism,"  as  he  interprets  what  he  calls  "  Tracta- 
rianism  ;"  and  her  cause  is,  humanly  speaking,   more  likely  to  be 
u  ruined"  by  the  laxity  or  latitudinarianism  of  persons,  both  clerical 
and  lay,  who  look  upon  schism  with  indifference,  and  whose  opi- 
nions and  practices  are  utterly  subversive  of  Apostolical  truth,  or- 
der, and  discipline.     The  Editor  of  the  Christian  Observer  con- 
cludes by  stating  that  "  the  Church  of  England  desires  to  aid  its 
beloved  sister  in  Scotland,  so  long  c  scattered  and  peeled'  " — a  fact 
which  may  be  said  to  be  daily  corroborated  by  experience,  and  is 
duly  appreciated  in  the  most  grateful  manner. 

In  concluding  these  introductory  observations,  the  following 
passages  from  a  work  by  John  Gibson  Lockhart,  Esq.,  published 
in  1819,  contain  the  reflections  of  that  distinguished  writer  on  the 
Scottish  Episcopal  Church  : — "  Presbytery  was  not  established  in 
this  country  [Scotland]  without  a  lung  and  violent  struggle,  or 
series  of  struggles,  in  which  it  is  too  true  that  the  mere  tyrannical 
aversion  of  the  Stuart  Kings  was  the  main  and  most  effectual  enemy 
the  Presbyterians  had  to  contend  with,  but  in  which,  notwithstand- 
ing, there  was  enlisted  against  the  cause  of  that  sect  no  inco] 

t 

derable  nor  weak  array  of  fellow  <-it:        .  conscientiously  and  de- 
voutly adhering   t<>   an   Opposite   system.      It  was   :i    pity    that   the 

Scottish  Episcopalian         e  almost  universally  Jacobites,  t<>r  their 
adoption  of  tint   most   hated  of  all  [political]  heresies  made  it  a 


xl  INTRODUCTORY. 

comparatively  easy  matter  for  their  doctrinal  enemies  to  scatter 
them  entirely  from  the  field  before  them.  Nevertheless,  in  spite 
of  all  the  disfavour  and  disgrace  with  which  for  a  length  of  years 
they  had  to  contend,  the  spirit  of  the  Episcopal  Church  did  not 
evaporate  or  expire,  and  she  has  of  late  lifted  up  her  head  again  in 
a  style  of  splendour  that  seems  to  awaken  considerable  feelings  of 
jealousy  and  wrath  in  the  bosoms  of  the  more  bigoted  Presby- 
terians who  contemplated  it.  The  more  liberal  adherents  of  the 
Scottish  Kirk,  however,  seem  to  entertain  no  such  feelings,  or 
rather  they  take  a  pleasure  in  doing  full  justice  to  the  noble  sted- 
fastness  which  has  been  displayed  through  so  long  a  period  of  ne- 
glect by  their  fellow  Christians  of  this  persuasion.  To  the  clergy 
of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  particular  they  have  no  difficulty  in 
conceding  a  full  measure  of  that  praise  which,  from  adherence  to 
principle,  has  at  all  times  the  power  of  commanding,  and  the  ad- 
herence of  these  men  has  indeed  been  of  the  highest  and  most 
meritorious  kind.  With  a  self-denial  and  humility  worthy  of  the 
Primitive  ages  of  the  Church,  they  have  submitted  to  all  manner 
of  penury  and  privation  rather  than  depart  from  their  inherited 
faith,  or  leave  the  people  of  their  sect  without  the  support  of  that 
spiritual  instruction  for  which  it  was  out  of  their  power  to  offer 
any  thing  more  than  a  very  trivial  and  inadequate  kind  of  remune- 
ration. Nay,  in  the  midst  of  all '  their  difficulties  and  distresses, 
they  have  endeavoured  with  persevering  zeal  to  sustain  the  cha- 
racter of  their  own  body  with  regard  to  learning,  and  they  have 
succeeded  in  doing  so  in  a  way  that  reflects  the  highest  honour  not 
only  on  their  zeal,  but  their  talents.  Not  a  few  names  of  very 
considerable  celebrity  are  to  be  found  among  the  scattered  and  im- 
poverished members  of  this  Apostolical  Church  ;  and  even  in  our 
own  time  the  talents  of  many  men  have  been  devoted  to  its  ser- 
vice, who  might  easily  have  commanded  what  less  heroic  spirits 
would  have  thought  a  far  more  precious  kind  of  reward,  had  they 
chosen  to  seek,  in  other  pursuits  and  professions,  what  they  well 
knew  this  could  never  afford  them."* 

*  Peter's  Letters  to  his  Kinsfolk,  vol.  iii.  p.  88,  89,  90. 


HISTORY 


OF  THE 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

COL.COLL. 

LIBRARY. 


CHAPTER  It 


OPALIWH 


N.YORK. 

GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  ESTABLISHED  T?PTSf!nP  ATTWngiiiJT.  np  flf'QTT||ifrft 

PREVIOUS  TO  THE  REVOLUTION.'* 

The  history  of  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland  may  be  said  to  com- 
prise two  periods — the  one  commencing  from  the  Reformation  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  or  at  least  from  1572',  and  terminating  at  the  Revo- 
lution of  1 G88,  during  which,  excepting  various  casual  changes  and  oc- 
currences, that  Church  was  the  legal  Establishment.  The  second  period 
dates  from  the  Revolution,  when  the  Church,  from  political  principles 
on  the  part  of  its  Bishops  and  Clergy,  which,  whether  mistaken  or  not, 
deserve  the  highest  veneration,  because  they  suffered  their  deprivation 
from  conscientious  motives,  ceased  to  be  vested  with  the  rights  and  pri- 
vileges of  a  legal  Establishment,  and  was  superseded  by  Presbyterianism. 
This  period  is  the  subject  of  the  present  volume. 

The  Church  in  Scotland  twice  received  the  Episcopal  Succession  from 
the  Church  of  England,  first  in  1010,  and  again  in  1GG1.  After  the 
tumultuous  reformation  of  religion  the  Roman  Catholic  Hierarchy  be- 
came  extinct,  and  consequently  those  persona  nominated  by  James  VI. 

to  tin:  Archbishoprics  and  Bishoprics,  from  1572  to  1G10,  were   merely 
nominal,  though  they  were  in  possession  of  BUCh  of  the  revenue-  of  their 

Sees  as  had  escaped  the  general  plunder  of  the  temporalities  at  the 
dissolution  of  the  Roman  Catholic   Hierarchy.      It  may  he  doubted 

A 


2  HISTORY  OF  THE 

whether  it  was  possible  that  those  persons,  who,   though  undoubtedly 
laymen,  were  styled  Bishops,  could  have  been  otherwise  situated  at  the 
time.     The  succession  had  become  extinct  in  a  country  which  was  still 
a  separate  independent  kingdom  under  its  own  monarch,   and   Queen 
Elizabeth  might  have  chosen,  from  various  motives,  to  prevent  the  Arch- 
bishops and  Bishops  of  the  Church  of  England  from  holding  any  conse- 
crations of  Scottish  Prelates  during  her  reign.      But  the  union  of  the 
two  crowns,  by  the  accession  of  James  VI.  to  the  English  throne,  re- 
moved every  obstacle,  and  accordingly,  in  1610,   Archbishop   Spottis- 
woode  of  St  Andrews,  Bishop  Hamilton  of  Galloway,  and  Bishop  Lamb 
of  Brechin,  were  summoned  to  London  by  order  of  the  King,  and  con- 
secrated in  the  Chapel  of  London  House   on  the  21st  of  October  that 
year,  by  Dr  George  Abbot,  Bishop  of  London,  Dr  Lancelot  Andrewes, 
Bishop  of  Ely,  Dr  Richard  Neale,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  and  Dr  Henry 
Parry,  Bishop  of  Worcester.     Dr  James  Montague,  Bishop  of  Bath  and 
Wells,  was  nominated  as  one  of  the  consecrating  Prelates  in  the  royal 
commission  with  the  Bishops  of  London  and  Ely,  but  his  Lordship  could 
not  attend,  and  his  place  was  supplied  by  the  Bishops  of  Rochester  and 
Worcester. 

The  newly  consecrated  Bishops  returned  to  Scotland,  and  canoni- 
cally  conferred  the  episcopal  function  on  their  brethren  who  filled  the 
other  Sees.  This  succession  is  generally  designated  the  Spottiswoode 
Line,  which  became  all  but  extinct  after  the  troubles  which  terminated 
in  the  murder  of  Charles  I.,  and  the  domination  of  Cromwell.  Only  one 
of  the  Bishops  of  that  succession  was  alive  at  the  restoration  of  Charles  II., 
when  the  Church  was  re-established  as  it  had  been  previous  to  the  noted 
General  Assembly  of  Glasgow  in  1638.  This  Prelate  was  Dr  Thomas 
Sydserff,  Bishop  of  Galloway.  It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  Bishop  Syd- 
serff  admitted  into  Deacon's  Orders  Dr  John  Tillotson,  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury.  In  the  Life  of  Archbishop  Tillotson,  by  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Birch,  it  is  stated — "  The  time  of  Mr  Tillotson 's  entering  into  holy  or- 
ders, and  by  whom  he  was  ordained,  are  facts  which  I  have  not  been 
able  to  determine."*  But  we  owe  the  fact  of  the  ordination  of  Arch- 
bishop Tillotson  by  Bishop  Sydserff  to  the  Rev.  John  Beardmore,  M.A., 
who  was  admitted  sizar,  and  tutor  to  him  at  Clare  Hall,  Cambridge,  in 
April,  1651,  and  whose  "  Memorials"  of  that  celebrated  Primate  were 
"  written  upon  the  news  of  his  death  for  his  own  satisfaction,  and  out 

*  Life  of  Dr  John  Tillotson,  p.  17.  London  edit.  1752. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  3 

of  honour  to  his  Grace's  memory."*     The  information  was  communicat- 
ed to  Mr  Beardmore  by  the  Archbishop  himself.     Tillotson's   father 
was  a  rigid  Puritan  and  Calvinist,  who  carefully  educated  his  son  in  his 
own  principles,  and  sent  him  to  Cambridge  in  1647,  when  the  Presbyte- 
rians had  the  control  of  that  University.     "  He  did  not  appear  as  a 
preacher,"  says  Mr  Beardmore,  "  till  after  the  Restoration  in  1660,  tak- 
ing orders  (as  he  hath  told  me)  from  the  old  Scottish  Bishop  of  Galloway, 
who  at  that  time  had  great  recourse  made  to  him  on  that  account. 
King  Charles  II.  was  then  so  favourable  to  the  Presbyterian  party,  that 
he  offered  Bishoprics  to  some  of  that  persuasion,  as  to  old  Mr  Calamy 
for  one  ;  and  Mr  Tillotson  told  me,  in  the  year  1661,  that  the  good  old 
man  deliberated  about  it  some  considerable  time,  professing  to  see  the 
great  inconvenience  of  Presbyterian  parity."     Bishop  Burnet,  who  de- 
signates Bishop  Sydserff  as  a  "very  learned  and  good  man,"  informs 
us  that  he  went  to  London  at  the  Restoration  expecting  to  be  advanced 
to  the  Archbishopric  of  St  Andrews,  but  that  he  gave  great  offence  to 
the  English  Bishops  by  the  promiscuous  ordinations  he  held  when  he 
first  came  to  England:   "For,"  says  Burnet,  "when  the  act  of  unifor- 
mity required  all  men  who  held  any  benefices  there  to  be  episcopally  or- 
dained, he  (Sydserff)  who,  by  observing  the  ill  effects  of  the  former  vio- 
lence of  the  Scots  Bishops,  was  become  very  moderate,  with  others  of 
the  Scots  Clergy  who  gathered  about  him,  ordained  all  those  of  the 
English  clergy  who  came  to  him,  without  demanding  either  oaths   or 
subscriptions  of  them.     This  was  supposed  to  be  done  by  him  merely 
for  a  subsistence  from  the  fees  for  the  letters  of  orders  granted  by  him, 
for  he  was  poor.     However,  he  was  translated  to  the  Bishopric  of  Ork- 
ney, one  of  the  best  revenues  of  the  Sees  in  Scotland,  in  which  he  lived 
little  more  than  a  year."t    The  circumstance  of  Bishop  Sydserff  dispens- 
ing with  "  oaths  or  subscriptions"  was  probably  the  principal  reason  that 
induced  Tillotson,  whose  Presbyterian  principles  then  warped  him,  to 
procure  ordination  from  his  hands.     Bishop  Sydserff  died  in  the  Sec  of 
Orkney  in  1663,  at  a  very  advanced  age.    He  is  mentioned  in  a  ratification 
of  the  Scottish  Parliament,  "  in  favour  of  Thomas  Bishop  of  Galloway," 
in  September,  1602,  confirming  the  rights  to  sundry  teinda  or  tithes  in 
rarioua  parishes  to  be  enjoyed  by  "James,  new  Bishop  of  Galloway." 

•  Thia  sketch  is  printed  Number  I.  In  the  Appendix  to  the  Life  «>t'  Archbishop 
Tillotson  bj  Birch,  f  Burnett  Bistorj  of  His  Own  Times,  rol.  ii.  p.  182,  133. 

X  Acta Psrliamentomm  Scotomas,  edited  bj  Thomas  Thomson,  Esq'  rot  \ii.  p 
\,  487 


4  HISTORY  OF  THE 

The  succession  of  the  Bishops  of  the  first  consecration  having  become 
extinct  before  the  Restoration,  with  the  exception  of  Dr  Sydserff,  the  re- 
establishment  of  the  Scottish  Church  rendered  the  investment  of  the 
episcopal  functions  again  necessary  in  England.  As  this  is  the  line 
from  which  the  Scottish  Bishops  and  Clergy  derive  their  consecration 
and  ordination,  some  attention  to  this  important  event  is  indispensable, 
more  especially  as  every  outrageous  and  ignorant  calumny  regarding 
the  consecrations  after  the  Revolution  is  often  industriously  and  indis- 
criminately paraded.  Although  these  attacks  are,  in  the  most  instances, 
founded  on  assumptions  so  flagrant  and  notorious,  and  so  unfairly  and 
uncandidJy  brought  forward,  as  to  carry  with  them  their  own  refuta- 
tion, yet  it  is  imperative  that  the  whole  matter  should  be  laid  before 
the  reader  in  a  clear  and  unhesitating  manner.  Four  parish  ministers 
were  summoned  to  London  by  the  King's  Letter,  dated  Whitehall, 
14th  August  1661.  These  were  Mr  James  Sharp,  of  a  respectable  fa- 
mily in  the  county  of  Banff,  who  had  officiated  as  minister  of  Crail  in 
the  county  of  Fife,  and  as  Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  neighbouring 
University  of  St  Andrews  ;  Mr  James  Hamilton,  minister  of  Cambus- 
nethan,  a  son  of  Sir  James  Hamilton,  and  brother  of  the  first  Lord  Bel- 
haven  ;  Mr  Robert  Leighton,  minister  of  Newbattle  near  Dalkeith,  the 
son  of  Dr  Alexander  Leighton,  who  had  thought  proper  to  publish  a 
violent  tirade  against  the  Church  of  England  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I., 
for  which  he  was  severely  punished  ;  and  Mr  Andrew  Fairfoul,  a  native 
of  Anstruther  in  Fife,  who  had  been  successively  minister  of  North  Leith 
and  of  Dunse.  Mr  Sharp  was  nominated  to  the  Archbishopric  of  St 
Andrews,  Mr  Fairfoul  to  the  Archbishopric  of  Glasgow,  Mr  Hamilton 
to  the  Bishopric  of  Galloway,  the  aged  Sydserff  having  been  transferred 
to  Orkney,  and  Mr  Leighton  to  the  Bishopric  of  Dunblane.  They  were 
all  consecrated  in  Westminster  Abbey  on  the  15th  day  of  December 
1661,  having  been  previously  ordained  deacons  and  priests,  by  Dr  Gilbert 
Sheldon,  Bishop  of  London  (afterwards  Archbishop  of  Canterbury), 
Dr  George  Morley,  Bishop  of  Worcester  (afterwards  of  Winchester), 
Dr  Richard  Sterne  (afterwards  Archbishop  of  York),  and  Dr  Hugh 
Lloyd,  Bishop  of  Llandaff.  Archbishop  Juxon  of  Canterbury  was  unable, 
on  account  of  his  great  age  and  infirmities,  to  be  present,  and  Archbishop 
Frewen  of  York  was  prevented  by  some  cause  or  other  from  attending. 

Of  the  parties  who  were  consecrated  in  Westminster  Abbey  on  this 
occasion,  none  has  been  assailed  with  greater  malignity  than  Archbi- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  5 

shop  Sharp.    The  high  office  he  was  selected  to  fill  as  Primate  and  Me- 
tropolitan of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  his  former  connection  with 
the  Presbyterians,  caused  him  to  be  maligned  by  the  latter  with  a  fero- 
city almost  unexampled,  and  even  at  this  distance  of  time,  when  differ- 
ent circumstances  should  have  assuaged  party  resentment,  the  most  ex- 
traordinary odium  is  still  heaped  on  his  memory.    It  is  unnecessary  here 
to  enter  into  any  minute  investigation  of  the  Archbishop's  conduct,  and 
his  inhuman  murder  by  a  band  of  armed  fanatics  might  surely  in  some 
degree  excite  respect  for  his  alleged  conduct  after  his  elevation  to  the 
Primacy,  as  well  as  for  the  means  by  which  he  is  very  erroneously  suppos- 
ed to  have  attained  the  Metropolitan  See.     The  Episcopal  Church  of 
Scotland,  however,  is  not  responsible  for  any  acts  of  Archbishop  Sharp, 
and  it  would  be  as  unreasonable  to  connect  her  constitution  with  his 
private  or  public  life  as  it  would  be  to  charge  all  the  Presbyterians  with 
being  implicated  in  his  murder,  or  to  hold  them  responsible  for  the 
dangerous  extravagances,  intolerant  principles,  and  violent  proceeding.", 
of  the  Covenanters,  in  an  age  when  forbearance  was  little  understood  or 
practised  by  either  party  who  were  in  possession  of  power.     It  is  cer- 
tain that  the  Church  would  have  been  re-established  in  Scotland  with- 
out the  aid  of  the  Archbishop,  and  in  defiance  of  his  opposition.     This 
is  directly  admitted  even  by  the  Presbyterian  writer  Wodrow,  who  al- 
leges that  William,  ninth  Earl  of  Glencairn,  Lord  Chancellor  of  Scot- 
land after  the  Restoration,  was  "  the  chief  statesman  that  has  brought 
in  Prelacy."*     Nothing  can  be  more  evident  to  an  unprejudiced  mind 
than  that  the  Archbishop  has  been  more  blamed  than  he  deserved  for 
promoting  Episcopacy,  and  the  serious  charge  that  he  previously  de- 
ceived and  betrayed  his  constituents,  when  sent  from  Scotland  to  the 
Court,  remains  still  to  be  proved.     The  Presbyterians  maintained  that 
he  was  guilty  of  this  treachery,  and  bestowed  on  him  such  epithets  as 
Judas,  an  apostate,  a  wretch,  and  other  raving  soubriquets,  and  we  a<- 
cordingly  find  one  of  the  most  noted  preachers,  Mr  Alexander  Shields, 
in  his  extraordinary  performance,  entitled  "  A  Hind  Let  Loose,"  exulting 
with  savage  delight  at  his  barbarous  murder,  and  daringly  connecting 
this  crime  with  the  name  of  the  Deity,  applauding  the  perpetrators  as 
"  worthy  gentlemen." — ''That   truculent  traitor,"  says   Mi    Shields, 

•   Wodrow'i  An.ili'ctu,  MS.,  Advooatea*  Librarj 


6  HISTORY  OF  THE 

"  James  Sharp,  Archprelate,  &c,  received  the  just  demerit  of  his  per- 
fidie,  perjury,  apostacy,  sorceries,  villanies,  aud  murders,  sharp  arrowes 
and  coals  of  juniper.  For,  upon  the  3d  of  May  1679,  several  worthy 
gentlemen,  with  some  other  men  of  courage  and  zeal  for  the  cause  of  God, 
and  the  good  of  the  country,  executed  righteous  judgement  upon  him  in 
Magus  Muir  near  St  Andrews."  Language  such  as  this,  expressing  as 
it  does  the  feelings  of  the  heart,  only  shows  that  Shields  would  have 
been  a  tyrant  of  the  most  implacable  kind  if  it  had  been  in  his  power. 
The  Archbishop's  own  party  always  asserted  that  he  acted  fairly,  and  that 
in  reality  he  did  not  represent  them,  or  bear  any  commission  from  them, 
when  he  conformed  to  the  Church,  and  accepted  the  Primacy — an  ele- 
vation by  no  means  enviable  in  that  turbulent  and  fanatical  age.  It 
was  impossible  for  the  Archbishop's  Presbyterian  contemporaries,  excit- 
ed as  they  were  by  the  most  malignant  and  frantic  hatred  towards  him, 
writing  and  speaking  of  him  in  the  most  intolerable  manner,  and  allud- 
ing to  him  in  the  most  offensive  language  in  their  field-preachings,  to  be 
competent  judges  of  his  conduct,  and  it  is  not  surprising,  when  all  things 
are  taken  into  account,  that  this  revengeful  spirit  should  be  cherished 
at  the  present  day. 

These  observations  are  here  introduced,  because  the  Presbyterian 
writers  obstinately  persist  in  identifying  the  name  of  Archbishop  Sharp 
with  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  of  which  he  was  no  more  than  Pri- 
mate at  its  re-establishment  by  the  second  consecration  in  England. 
That  Church,  as  a  branch  of  the  Holy  Catholic,  and  Apostolic  Church, 
acknowledges  the  name  of  no  man,  or  set  of  men,  however  pious,  learn- 
ed, and  distinguished,  for  with  that  universal  communion,  whether  es- 
tablished by  law  as  in  England,  or  existing  as  in  other  countries,  the 
Scottish  Episcopal  Church  asserts  her  apostolicity,  as  derived  from  the 
Church  of  England  by  the  consecrations  of  1661,  and  claims  a  similar 
foundation  on  the  Prophets,  Apostles,  and  Primitive  Fathers,  Jesus 
Christ  himself  being  the  chief-corner  stone.  She  acknowledges  only  her 
great  Head,  and  she  depends  for  the  success  of  the  ministrations  of  her 
Bishops  and  Clergy  to  His  gracious  promise,  that  by  the  guidance  of  the 
Third  Person  of  the  glorious  Trinity  He  will  be  with  his  Church  and 
people  always  to  the  end  of  the  world.  But  to  revert  to  Archbishop 
Sharp,  it  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  show  that  most  of  the  calum- 
nies heaped  upon  him  are  utterly  unfounded,  and  the  scandals  cir- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CUUKCH.  7 

culatcd  against  him  so  false,  as  to  be  utterly  unworthy  of  notice.  Mr 
James  Kirkton,  a  well  known  Presbyterian  contemporary,  describes  him 
as  "  a  man  of  parts  and  a  schollar,  as  he  shewed  himself  when  a  regent  in 
St  Andrews,  but  a  schollar  rather  cautious  than  able  ;  rarely  would 
he  ever  engadge  in  a  dispute,  lest  he  might  fall  under  disadvantage, 
and  never  would  be  the  opponent,  which  he  knew  was  the  mo^t  difficult 
part."*'  These  latter  qualifications,  however,  such  as  they  are,  must 
be  received  as  mere  matters  of  opinion.  This  same  Kirkton,  who 
was  one  of  the  Archbishop's  bitter  enemies,  proceeds  to  describe  him 
as  held  by  all  who  knew  him,  "to  be  no  better  than  a  flat  atheist," 
recording  a  story  affecting  his  moral  character  so  utterly  false,  that  it 
is  astonishing  it  was  believed  for  a  moment  even  in  that  credulous  age, 
and  gravely  assuring  us  that  many  considered  him  to  be  a  "  demoniack 
and  a  witch."  As  Mr  Kirkpatrick  Sharpe  observes,  the  story  alluded 
to  "  seems  to  have  been  founded  on  the  ravings  of  a  mad  woman,  who 
disturbed  the  congregation  while  at  sermon  in  St  Andrews,  and  be- 
stowed many  scurrilous  epithets  on  the  Archbishop  ;"  and  who  de- 
clared that  she  once  saw  him  and  two  gentlemen,  one  of  whom  was  the 
Rev.  Robert  Rait,  minister  of  Dundee,  all  dancing  in  the  air  !  It  is 
satisfactorily  known  that  as  Primate  of  the  Church,  Archbishop  Sharp's 
deportment  was  regular  ;  and  during  the  twelve  years  he  was  previously 
minister  of  Crail,  in  the  Kirk-  Session  records  of  which  his  handwriting 
is  still  to  be  seen,  he  was  a  rigid  disciplinarian,  discharging  his  duties 
with  the  utmost  strictness,  punctuality,  and  diligence.  The  writer  of 
the  "  True  and  Impartial  Account  of  the  Life  of  the  most  Reverend 
Father  in  God,  Dr  James  Sharpe,  Archbishop  of  St  Andrews,"  &c.  who 
is  at  least  as* much  entitled  to  credit  as  the  Primate's  bigoted  enemies, 
assures  us  that  his  "  methods  were  Christian  and  prudent,  and  attended 
with  very  great  success,"  and  that  "  ho  entertained  his  clergy  with 
much  brotherly  love  and  respect,  and  was  a  great  judge  and  oncourager 
of  learning,  wisdom,  and  piety."  Bishop  Burnet,  indeed,  is  pleased  to 
say  that  he  "  had  a  very  small  proportion  of  learning,  and  was  but  an 
indifferent  preacher ;"  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  this  is  tho 
opinion  of  an  avowed  and  inveterate  enemy. 

Tin-   iros-iping  and  garrulous  Mr  Robert    Wodrow,  a  well  known 

Th>  Becrel  and  True  History  of  the  (Munch  <>f  Scotland,  from  i h.   Restoration 
u   I 678,  edited  b y  Charts    Kirkpatrick  Sharpe,  Baq    it©.  1817,  p  88 


8  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Presbyterian  minister,  who  had  the  dishonesty  to  garble  the  Arch- 
bishop's letters  to  Douglas,  tells  the  following  story,  in  his  own  peculiar 
manner,  respecting  the  wife  of  a  Mr  John  Baird,  Presbyterian  minister 
at  Innerwick,  in  the  Presbytery  of  Dunbar— which  Wodrow  designates 
a  ''woeful  Presbitry,"  for  "one  Mr  Wood,  a  minister  ^mong  them, 
turned  a  Bishop,  and  all  the  other  eight  turned  curates."*  The  story 
may  be  considered  a  fair  specimen^  of  the  ridiculous  scandal  in  which 
the  Archbishop's  enemies  delighted  to  indulge  against  him.  The  said 
Mr  John  Baird  married  Margaret  Bruce,  daughter  of  Mr  James  Bruce, 
minister  of  Kingsbarns,  the  parish  adjoining  that  of  Crail,  of  which  the 
Archbishop  was,  as  already  mentioned,  twelve  years  the  incumbent.  "  It 
was  by  a  very  strange  providence  that  she  escaped  being  Mr  James 
Sharp's  wife,  who  became  Primate,  and  was  then  minister  of  Crail  m 
Fife.  He  was  very  earnestly  wooing  her.  She  on  a  Saobath  day,  in 
a  disguise,  went  to  Crail  to  hear  Mr  Sharp  preach,  and  he  preached  ex- 
traordinarily well,  as  she  thought,  so  that  she  really  had  some  design  to 
embrace  his  offer,  if  he  came  again  to  renew  and  urge  his  proposal.  She 
was  always  a  very  curious  and  inquisitive  person.  When  her  father 
went  out,  she  used  to  try  if  he  had  left  his  chamber  door  open.  Ac- 
cordingly, after  she  had  heard  Mr  Sharp  preach  his  sermon,  she  goes 
to  her  father's  chamber,  and  finds  his  study  door  open  ;  she  goes  in,  and 
presently  falls  upon'a  new  English  sermon,  which  her  father,  Mr  Bruce, 
had  gotten  out  of  England,  and  it  was  upon  the  very  same  text  that  Mr 
Sharp  had  preached.  She  reads  the  sermon,  and  she  finds  that  Mr 
Sharp  had  stollen  the  whole  sermon,  and  had  most  faithfully  repeated 
the  most  part  of  what  was  in  that  printed  English  sermon,  which  open- 
ed her  eyes  so  clearly,  that  when  he  came  again  to  renew  his  proposall, 
she  utterly  rejected  his  offer,  and  it  was  indeed  a  happy  providence  to 
her,  for  if  she  had  fallen  in  that  wretch's  company  she  had  been  miser- 
able in  time."t  Wodrow  says  of  this  silly  woman,  in  whose  story 
there  is  probably  not  a  word  of  truth,  that  "  she  declared  that  God  took 

*  The  "  Mr  Wood"  here  mentioned  as  one  of  this  "woeful  Presbitry,"  was  An- 
drew Wood,  a  nephew  by  his  mother  of  the  worthy  Bishop  Guthrie  of  Moray.  He 
was  successively  minister  of  the  parishes  of  Spott  and  Dunbar,  consecrated  Bishop 
of  the  Isles  in  1678,  and  translated  to  the  See  of  Caithness  In  1080.  His  death  is 
noticed  elsewhere. 

f  Wodrow's  Analecta,   MS.,   Advocates'   Library. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  C1IUKCH.  9 

her  by  the  heart  when  she  was  but  six  years  old."  The  Archbishop 
married  Miss  Moncrieff  of  Randerston  in  Fife,  a  lady  described  by  his 
libellers  as  "  an  ordinary  swearer,  tippler,  scold,  and  prophaner  of  the 
Sabbath-day,"  while  his  defenders,  and  those  who  knew  her  intimately, 
speak  of  her  as  a  most  worthy,  excellent,  and  pious  person.  But  this 
lady  was  not  a  Presbyterian,  and  the  abuse  so  ungallantly  and  unchari- 
tably awarded  to  her  is  easily  understood.  If  Archbishop  Sharp  was  the 
man  he  is  represented  to  have  been  by  his  traducers,  it  is  not  likely  that 
his  son  and  daughters  would  have  occupied  the  position  in  society  which 
they  subsequently  maintained.  His  son,  Sir  William  Sharp,  Bart, 
married  Margaret  Erskine,  daughter  of  Sir  Charles  Erskine,  Bart,  of 
Cambo,  near  Crail,  Lord  Lyon  King- of- Arms,  the  third  son  of  the  first 
Earl  of  Kellie,  and  brother  of  the  second  and  third  Earls.  Isabel, 
who  was  in  the  coach  with  her  father  when  he  was  inhumanly  murdered, 
married  Cunningham  of  Barns,  a  gentleman  of  ancient  family  in  Fife  ; 
and  Margaret,  the  only  other  daughter,  married  William,  eleventh  Lord 
Saltoun,  from  whom  the  Barons  of  that  branch  of  the  Noble  Family  of 
Frazer  are  lineally  descended.  Lady  Saltoun  died  at  Edinburgh  in  1734. 

The  Presbyterian  writer  Kirkton  gives  us  his  opinion  of  the  other 
prelates  consecrated  in  1661.  "Mr  Andrew  Fairfoull  for  Glasgow,  a 
man  of  good  learning  and  neat  expression,  but  was  never  taken  for  a 
man  either  serious  or  sincere,  and  was  moreover  judged  a  man  both  pro- 
fane and  scandalous.  Mr  James  Hamilton,  minister  at  Camnethan, 
was  appointed  for  Galloway,  a  man  only  noticed  for  his  wary  time-serv- 
ing, otherwise  a  man  of  contemptible  parts."  But  if  those  and  the 
other  Bishops  were  really  such  as  he  represents  them,  imputing  to  some 
of  them  the  grossest  immoralities  and  the  most  scandalous  vices,  it  is 
littlo  to  the  credit  of  his  beloved  Prcsbyterianism,  or  its  discipline,  that 
they  were  allowed  to  continue  so  long  ministers  of  their  respective 
parishes,  before  they  conformed  to  the  Church,  and  were  invested  with 
episcopal  authority.  They  officiated  as  incumbents  of  their  parishes 
during  years  when  Presbyterianism  was  rampant  in  its  most  stringent 
form — years  to  which  the  BUpporters  of  that  system  usually  refer  witli 
exultation,  a-  the  purest  and  Lett  years  of  their  existence.  Those  wen-  the 
years  of  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant  ;  and  the  parties  who  in  the 

iicral   Assembly  of  1638   had  the  audacity  t<>  excommunicate  all 
the  then  Bishops  ol  Scotland,  and  libel  tl  ryatrocious 


10  HISTORY  OF  THE 

crime  possible  to  be  committed,  might  have  easily  silenced  a  few  obscure 
parish  ministers,  if  they  were  really  the  characters  delineated  by  Kirk- 
ton  and  his  associates.  But  the  truth  is,  that  nothing  was  ever  charged 
against  them,  either  publicly  or  privately,  until  they  conformed  to  the 
Church,  and  were  invested  with  episcopal  functions,  when  they  were 
instantly  discovered  by  the  Presbyterians  to  be  addicted  to  the  grossest 
vices,  and  to  be  actuated  by  the  basest  motives.  Even  Archbishop  Sharp, 
who  is  justly  described  as  "  for  sobriety  next  to  a  miracle,"  is  falsely  re- 
presented by  his  unscrupulous  maligners  as  a  sensualist.  The  Presby- 
terians may  be  assured  that  a  new  generation  views  these  charges  in  a 
very  different  manner. 

Leighton,  Bishop  of  Dunblane,  and  subsequently  Archbishop  of  Glas- 
gow, is  specially  noticed  by  Kirkton.  His  well-known  theological  works 
are  still  admired  even  by  Presbyterians,  and  by  his  reputation  for  mild- 
ness of  disposition,  piety,  and  learning,  he  is  the  only  one  of  the  Scot- 
tish Bishops  of  that  age  whose  character  has  not  been  wilfully  and  mali- 
ciously traduced.  Previous  to  his  consecration  in  London  he  had  been, 
as  already  observed  minister  of  Newbattle  near  Dalkeith,  and  Principal 
of  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  "  Burnet,"  it  is  observed,  "  says  that 
Leighton,  who  had  been  trained  up  to  entertain  the  strongest  antipathy  to 
the  whole  frame  of  the  Church  of  England,  quickly  broke  through  the 
prejudices  of  his  education.  The  Presbyterians  offered  few  attractive 
qualities  to  his  notice.  He  found  them  bitter  and  persecuting  in  their 
political  sentiments,  sour  in  their  temper,  and  narrow-minded  in  spiritual 
things.  Having  gone  over  to  the  Episcopalians,  he  accepted  the  bishop- 
ric of  Dunblane,  a  small  diocese  with  a  little  revenue.  He  admini- 
stered his  pastoral  care  with  a  watchful  eye  and  a  liberal  hand.  '  He 
went  round,'  we  are  told  by  Burnet,  '  continually  every  year,  preaching 
and  catechising  from  parish  to  parish.'  His  elevation  in  the  Church 
did  not  change  the  humble  tenor  of  his  life  ;  he  pursued  the  same  path 
of  humility  and  peace,  bestowing  abundant  alms  upon  the  poor,  and  en- 
forcing by  his  own  practice  the  doctrines  which  he  taught."* 

Kirkton  thus  notices  Leighton  : — he  "was  made  Bishop  of  Dunblane  ; 
thus  he  choose  to  demonstrate  to  the  world  avarice  was  not  his  principle, 
it  being  the  smallest  revenue — a  man  of  good  learning,  excellent  utter- 

*  Pictures  of  Christian  Life,  by  Robert  Aris  Wilmott,  B  A-  of  Trinity  College, 
Cambridge-     London,  1841,  p.  251- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  11 

ance,  and  very  grave  abstract  conversation  ;  but  almost  altogether  des- 
titute of  a  doctrinal  principle,  being  almost  indifferent  among  all  the 
professions  that  are  called  by  the  name  of  Christ."     In  other  words, 
Leighton's  mildness  and  pious  deportment  were  viewed  with  contempt 
by  his  Presbyterian  contemporaries,  who  considered  him  alatitudinarian, 
because  he  refused  to  go  the  whole  length  of  Presbyterianism  and  the 
Solemn  League  and  Covenant.     That  Leighton  was  supposed  to  be  a 
person  of  no  fixed  opinion  on  ecclesiastical  matters,  which  is  the  evi- 
dent meaning  of  the  very  charitable  Mr  Kirkton's  accusation  that  he 
was  "  destitute  of  a  doctrinal  principle,"  is  evident  from  the  following 
anecdote,  which  gives  a  tolerable  idea  of  the  feeling  of  those  times. 
The  anecdote  refers  to  a  visit  by  Leighton  after  his  consecration  to 
the  mansion  of  Goodtrees,   now  called  Moredun,  near  the  village  of 
Gilmerton,  upwards  of  three  miles  from  Edinburgh,  on  one  of  the  post 
roads  to  Dalkeith — a  stately  chateau,  at  that  time  the  property  and 
residence  of  Sir  James  Stewart  of  Goodtrees,  who  had,  been  an  eminent 
merchant  in  Edinburgh,   and  was  nephew  of  Lord  Carmichael,  Lord 
Treasurer- Depute  of  Scotland.     Sir  James  was  a  noted  Presbyterian 
leader,  and  was  Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh  in  1649  and  in  1659,  but 
lie  was  dismissed  from  his  civic  dignity  at  the  Restoration,  for  being  a 
Covenanter,  and  committed  to  Edinburgh  Castle,  from  which  he  was 
released  by  the  interest  of  Sir  Archibald  Primrose,  Lord  Register, 
father  of  the  first  Earl  of  Rosebery.     The  name  Gutters  is  merely  a 
local  corruption  of  Goodtrees. 

It  seems  that  in  one  of  Sir  James  Stewart's  visits  of  business  to  Lon- 
don he  became  acquainted  with  the  elder  Leighton,  who  entrusted  his  son, 
the  future  Bishop  of  Dunblane  and  Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  to  Sir  James' 
care  to  be  educated  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh. — "  The  father  en- 
treated (and  the  son  was  present)  to  train  him  up  in  i\\e  true  Presbiterian 
forme,  and  Robert  was  strictly  enjoined,  with  his  father's  blessing,  to 
be  steady  in  that  way.  While  attending  the  University  he  was  expelled 
for  writing  a  satirical  stanza  'on  the  Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh's 
aame,  Aikenhead,  and  the  many  pimples  en  his  face.'  " — u  "When  Epis- 
copacy beanie  fashionable  after  the  year  L660,"  says  the  writer.  Sir 
Archibald  Stewart  Denham,  Bart.,  "he  forgot  his  father's  injunction. 
and  was  i;i-h<>|>  and  Archbishop,  amicable  compositor  of  parties,  and 
what  not.  in  Scotland ;  and  in  the  end,  disgusted  with  all,  he  threw  him 


12  HISTORY  OF  THE 

self  free,  and  ended  his  days  in  a  kind  of  monastick  life  in  England." 
In  a  note  at  this  passage  it  is  stated — "  Mr  Leighton  was  a  learned 
divine,  and  a  man  of  value  in  many  ways,  but  had  a  good  deal  of  whine 
and  pedantry.  .  As  to  his  pulpit  performance,  Bishop  Burnett  runs  him 
up  too  high,  and  by  aggrandizing  his  pulpit  gift  makes  one  esteme  the 
published  sermons  really  less  than  they  truly  deserve  ;  and  I  judge  the 
Bishop  has  overdone  in  the  whole  character." — "After  Mr  Leighton 
came  from  London,  consecrate  Bishop  of  Dunbian,  he  went  to  dine  at 
Gutters  (Goodtrees,  now  Moredun)  near  Edinburgh,  and,  as  he  said,  with 
his  old  friend,  or  his  best  friend,  Sir  James  Stewart.     The  first  salute 
from   this   best  friend  was — '  Welcome,   Robin  !    you  loved   gauding 
abroad  too  much ;  you  have  the  fate  of  Dinah,  Jacob's  daughter,  for  now 
I  may  say  the  Shechamites  have  catched  and  defloured  you. '      This  pass- 
ed easy,  and  Sir  James  turned  to  other  subjects  of  discourse,  and  there 
was  no  more  talk  of  his  having  deserted  Z ion's  plea  for  presbytery  at 
that  time.     Only,  because  Burnet,  in  his  History  of  his  Own  Times, 
says  that  Leighton  had  no  angry  passions,  we  shall  add  this.     Though 
his  Lordship  of  Dunblane  took  easy  what  Sir  James  Stewart  said,'  he 
did  not  so  easy  digest  what  his  eldest  son  Thomas  put  closer  home  in 
private  with  him.     He  said  to  one  who  saw  him  in  some  confusion,  in  • 
stantly  upon  his  return  from  Gutters — "  I  have  dined  at  Goodtrees  ;  I 
wish  I  had  stayed  at  home,  and  chawed  gravel.     That  young  man,  Sir 
James  Stewart's  son,  Thomas,  is  as  hott  as  peper  ;  he  was  never  off  this 
turff  of  Scotland,  has  gott  a  Presbyterian  crotchet  in  his  perecranium, 
and  will  never  get  it  out  again."     When  the  Bishop  went  from  Gut- 
ters, all  Sir  James  Stewart  said  was — "  Mr  Leighton  is  a  man  of  many 
oddities  or  irregularities,  and  it  does  not  surprize  me  what  he  has  done  ; 
still  I  shall  think  him  a  pious  good  man.     The  Court  have  called  up 
three  little  better  than  Judas,  and  seduced  one  Nathaniel!"      In  Sir 
James  Stewart's  Diary  is  this  notice — "  Robin  Lighton,  much  in  Mr 
Forbes'  way,  who  was  the  first  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  and  was  of  the  same 
whimsical  stamp,  a  prey  to  novelties."*     The  substance  of  the  conver- 
sation is  given  more  minutely  in  another  part  of  the  volume,  t  from 

*  Coltness  Collections,  printed  in  1842  for  the  Maitland  Club,  in  one  volume  4to, 
p.  22,  23,  24. 

f  Coltness  Collections,  p.  68,  69.  The  state  of  party  feeling,  as  cherished  by  the 
loyalists  towards  their  opponents,  and  there  was  no  love  lost  between  them,  is  indi- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  13 

which  it  appears  that  Leighton  had  at  one  time  approved  of  the  National 
Covenant,  but  that  he  had  always  opposed  the  Solemn  League.  Leigh- 
ton's  defence  of  himself  is  also  inserted. — "  Mr  Stewart,"  he  said,  "  man 
is  a  mutable  changing  essence,  both  in  body  and  mind,  and  frequently 
is  misinformed,  yet  acts  according  to  his  light  at  the  time,  and  acts 
safe  ;  but  if  years,  and  experience,  and  inquiry,  give  further  light,  so  he 
is  still  to  act  an  ingenious  part,  as  God,  his  word,  and  his  confidence 
direct ;"  and  the  Bishop  cited  that  text — "  When  I  was  a  child,  &c.  but 
now  have  I  put  away  childish  things."  A  passage  in  the  "  Memorialls" 
by  Mr  Robert  Law,  shows  that  Leighton  was  not  inattentive  to  the 
affairs  of  his  Diocese  when  Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  under  date  1673. 
"  Bishop  Leighton,  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  Glasgow,  appoints 
some  of  the  brethren,  viz.  Mr  Ross,  Parson  of  Glasgow  (afterwards 
Archbishop),  Mr  Stewart  at  Bonhill,  Mr  Whyte  at  Air,  and  some  others 
with  him,  to  go  to  Edinburgh  and  present  some  grievances,  viz.  against 
the  Indulged  (Presbyterian)  brethren,  that  they  baptized  children  of 
other  parishes,  and  did  not  keep  the  29th  of  May,  the  King's  birth  and 
restoration  day  ;  and  that  they  did  not  keep  the  injunctions  of  the 
Council ;  2dly,  against  conventicles  ;  against  some  of  them  they  alledged 
treasonable  speeches,  and  charge  some  with  adultery  and  fornication  ; 
3dly,  against  some  young  men  that  preach,  as  they  alledge,  without  ap- 
poyntmcut  of  the  Church  officers."* 

It  is  amusing  to  peruse  Kirkton's  characters  of  the  Bishops  who  were 
consecrated  by  the  Archbishop  and  his  colleagues  after  their  return  from 
London.  "  Mr  George  Wishart,"  he  observes,  "  he  was  for  Edinburgh, 
a  man  of  learning,  who  had  been  censured  by  the  old  Covenanters  at 
Dunse  Law  ;"  but  he  adds  some  malicious  scandal  as  usual — "  He  was 
a  daily  drunkard,  and  ane  infamous  swearer,  even  upon  the  streets."  The 
very  name  of  Bishop  Wishart,  to  all  who  know  his  history,  is  a  refuta- 
tion of  this  falsehood,  and  the  wonder  is  that  he  is  not  accused  of  mur- 
der, or  some  other  revolting  crime.     Bishop  Wishart  had  been  chaplain 

catcil  by  the  manner  in  which  Sir  John  Lauder,  Lord  Fountainhall,  mentions  Sir 
Jamei  Stewarl  and  his  sun: — "James  Stewart,  that  arrant  rogvt  (after  Advocate  (<> 

Queen  Anne),son  <>f  that  nefareout  villain,  Sir  James  Stewart,  some  tymeProToet  of 
Edinburgh,  a  bitter  enemy."  Chronological  Notes  of  Scottish  Affairs  from  1080 
till  1701,  chiefly  taken  from  the  Diary  of  Lord  Fountainhall,  with  Notes,  edited  by 
Sir  Walter  Scott,  4to,  p.  57. 

•    Law a  Memorialls,  p,  j<>. 


14  HISTORY  OF  THE 

to  the  great  Marquis  of  Montrose,  and  was  guilty  of  writing  in  elegant 
Latin  the  well-known  history  of  that  illustrious  nobleman's  exploits  in 
behalf  of  his  sovereign,  a  copy  of  which  was  suspended,  by  the  contemp- 
tible spite  of  his  Covenanting  enemies,  from  the  neck  of  the  Marquis 
when  he  was  executed,  or  rather  judicially  murdered.     That  Bishop  of 
Edinburgh  well  knew  the  tender  mercies  of  the  Covenanters.     They 
had  immured  him  during  their  domination  seven  months  in  a  dark  and 
loathsome  dungeon,  in  which  he  was  only  once  allowed  to  change  his 
linen,  and  was  so  seriously  assailed  by  rats,  that  he  bore  the  marks  of 
their  voracity  on  his  face  to  the  day  of  his  death.     Yet,  knowing  well 
the  horrors  of  incarceration,  this  worthy  Bishop  liberally  supplied  with 
food  the  Presbyterian  insurgents  taken  at  the  battle  of  Rullion  Green 
near  the  Pentland  hills,  and  imprisoned  in  that  part  of  St  Giles'  Cathedral 
in  Edinburgh,  long  known  as  Haddo's  Hole,  so  denominated  from  Sir 
John  Gordon  of  Haddo,  ancestor  of  the  Earls  of  Aberdeen,  who  was 
confined  in  this  part  of  the  edifice,  now  removed,  previous  to  his  execu- 
tion at  the  Cross  of  Edinburgh  for  loyalty  to  Charles  I.,  by  order  of  the 
Scottish  Parliament  in  1644.     Burnet  mentions  that  the  insurgents 
confined  in  this  and  other  places  in  the  city  were  so  plentifully  provid- 
ed by  Bishop  Wishart  and  several  persons,  that  they  almost  became 
martyrs,  having  no  exercise,  to  unwonted  repletion.     Bishop  Halybur- 
ton,  formerly  minister  of  Perth,  consecrated  to  Dunkeld,  escapes  tolera- 
bly easy  from  Kirkton's  aspersions.     He  is  admitted  to  have  been  a 
"  man  of  Utterance ,"  but  "  who  had  made  more  changes  than  old  infa- 
mous Eccebolius,  and  was  never  thought  sincere  in  any."  We  are  sim- 
ply told  that  "  Mr  David  Mitchell,  once  minister  at  Edinburgh,  but  de- 
posed for  heresy,  was  for  Aberdeen  ;"  "  Mr  David  Fletcher,  minister  at 
Melrose,"  who  is  acknowledged  to  have  been  "  a  man  of  many  pious 
prefaces,"  yet,  "  who  never  missed  ane  occasion  of  embracing  this  pre- 
sent world,  was  made  Bishop  of  Argyll ;"  and  Bishop  Forbes  of  Caith- 
ness is  designated  "  the  degenerate  son  of  ane  excellent  father,  Mr  John 
Forbes."  He  seems  to  have  had  nothing  to  record  against  Bishop  Wallace 
of  the  Isles,  Bishop  Strachan  of  Brechin,  Bishop  Paterson  of  Ross, 
and  Bishop  Mackenzie  of  Moray,  except  that  the  first  was  a  relation  of 
the  Lord  Chancellor  Glencairn,  the  second  was  also  a  near  relative  of  the 
Earl  of  Middleton,  and  his  Lordship's  parish  minister  at  Fettercairn, 
and  the  two  last  were  in  his  opinion  "  very  inconsiderable,  and  there- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  15 

fore  obscure."  Yet  they  were  not  at  least  more  "  obscure  or  inconsi- 
derable" than  the  ordinary  Presbyterians  ministers  of  the  time.  Bi- 
shop Paterson  was  the  father  of  John  Paterson,  successively  Bishop  of 
Galloway  and  Edinburgh,  and  Archbishop  of  Glasgow.  The  former 
before  his  elevation  was  minister  of  the  parish  of  Foveran  in  the 
county  of  Aberdeen,  and  his  son  was  Dean  of  Edinburgh.  Another 
son  of  Bishop  Paterson  of  Ross  was  created  a  Baronet  of  Nova  Scotia 
in  1687,  and  was  Clerk  of  the  Privy  Council  when  he  purchased 
the  estate  of  Granton  on  the  shore  of  the  Frith  of  Forth,  near  Edin- 
burgh, now  the  property  of  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch.  As  to  Bishop  Mac- 
kenzie of  Moray,  he  was  so  "  obscure"  as  to  be  a  younger  son  of  Mac- 
kenzie ofGairloch,  the  elder  branch  of  the  Noble  Family  of  Mackenzie, 
Earls  of  Seaforth,  had  been  ordained  by  Bishop  Maxwell  of  Ross,  and 
after  serving  as  a  military  chaplain  in  the  wars  of  the  great  Gustavus 
Adolphus,  was  successively  minister  of  Contin  in  the  county  of  Ross, 
next  of  Inverness,  and  latterly  of  Elgin,  his  own  episcopal  seat.  The 
truth  is,  that  conformity  to  the  Church  was  the  great  source  of  offence 
of  those  Bishops  to  the  Presbyterians,  who  in  consequence  on  every  oc- 
casion vilified  their  public  conduct  and  private  life. 

It  is  already  stated  that  Archbishop  Sharp  and  his  colleagues  were 
ordained  deacons  and  priests  before  they  were  consecrated — a  proce- 
dure which  had  indeed  been  discussed  and  overruled  in  the  case  of 
Archbishop  Spottiswoode  and  his  brethren  at  their  consecration  in  1G10. 
It  was  then  held  that  the  episcopal  function  involved  the  orders  of  dea- 
con and  priest,  but  Bishop  Sheldon  took  a  different  view  of  the  matter, 
and  held  that  Presbyterian  ordination  was  invalid.  However  much  this 
may  be  explained  or  modified,  it  is  maintained  by  the  Church  of  England 
and  the  Church  universal  at  the  present  day,  and  no  man  can  officiate 
within  her  pale  unless  he  has  been  episcopally  ordained.  A  remarkable 
illustration  of  this  occurred  towards  the  end  of  1841.  The  Rev.  Jamei 
Mar-hall,  one  of  the  Established  Presbyterian  ministers  of  Edinburgh, 
after  officiating  twenty-two  years  in  that  city  and  Glasgow,  conformed 
to  the  Church,  and  was  admitted  into  deacon's  orders  by  Bishop  Maltby 
of  Durham.  As  it  respects  Archbishop  Sharp,  it  i-  Mated  on  the  autho- 
rity of  Bishop  Burnet  that  lie  was  averse  to  be  ordained  before  his  con- 
ration,  Krai  the  English  Prelate^  were  resolute  in  their  determination 

t<»  proceed  in  what   they  considered    the  canonical  manner   enjoined  by 

the  practice  ofthe  fchnrch,     The  only  difficulty  in  the  consecration  of 


16  HISTORY  OF  THE 

1661  is  connected  with  Bishop  Hamilton  of  Galloway.  According  to 
Bishop  Keith,  he  had  been  ordained  incumbent  of  Canibusnethan  by 
Archbishop  Lindsay  of  Glasgow  in  1634,  in  which  parish  he  continued 
till  his  consecration.  Whether  that  ordination  was  admitted  to  be  valid 
is  nowhere  stated. 

An  extraordinary  notion  has  been  set  forth  by  the  Presbyterians,  in 
some  of  their  attacks  upon  the  Church,  that  the  consecration  of  the 
four  Scottish  Bishops  in  1661  was  invalid,  because  at  least  two  of  them, 
Archbishop  Sharp  and  Bishop  Leigliton,  were  not  episcopally  baptized. 
This  notion  is  merely  based  on  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  respecting 
the  validity  of  baptism  administered  by  a  person  who  is  not  in  holy 
orders,  or  episcopally  ordained,  and  is  conspicuously  introduced  in  an 
eccentric  pamphlet,  entitled  "  Oxford  Tractarianism,  the  Scottish  Epis- 
copal College,  and  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  the  substance  of  a 
Speech  delivered  before  the  Presbytery  of  Perth,  on  the  30th  of  March 
1842,  by  the  Rev.  Andrew  Gray,  A.M.,  Minister  of  the  West  Church  of 
Perth."  This  very  superfluous  production,  which  is  a  lugubrious  complaint 
against  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  for  its  alleged  exclusiveness  re- 
specting the  validity  of  ordination,  with  numerous  extracts,  culled  from 
the  works  of  Episcopal  authors,  is  concluded  by  an  Appendix,  in  which 
is  the  following  passage,  in  reference  to  the  Bishops  consecrated  in  1661. 
"  But  with  that  fatality  which  has  hitherto  characterized  every  attempt 
to  introduce  Prelacy  into  our  land,  not  one  of  these  men  was  prelati- 
cally  baptized.  The  two  first,  it  is  acknowledged  on  all  hands,  received 
only  Presbyterian  baptism.  But  the  baptism  of  the  other  two  was  just  as 
invalid,  for  it  was  received  only  from  those  who,  as  we  have  shown,  had 
never  been  baptized  themselves,  and  were  not  accordingly  in  order  at 
all.  These  four,  being  thus  incapable  of  orders,  received  no  grace  from 
the  imposition  of  hands  by  the  Anglican  Prelates.  But  what  they  did 
not  receive  they  could  not  communicate.  The  orders  of  our  present  Pre- 
lates, Priests,  and  Deacons,  are  utterly  invalid.  The  sum  of  the  whole 
matter  is,  that  the  orders  of  our  present  Scottish  Prelatists  are  derived 
from  persons  whom,  as  Bishop  Jolly  says,  '  pretendedly  ordained  per- 
sons had  pretended  to  baptize.'  " 

The  singular  hallucination  which  seems  to  possess  Mr  Andrew  Gray, 
Presbyterian  teacher  in  Perth,  would  be  unworthy  of  the  least  notice, 
were  it  not  for  his  most  unwarrantable  and  wilful  perversion  of  the  sen- 
timents of  the  venerable  Bishop  Jolly.     That  truly  good  and  learned 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  17 

Prelate  is  now  gathered  to  his  fathers,  but  there  are  those  who  may 
safely  be  presumed  to  know  more  of  his  opinions  than  can  be  ascertain- 
ed through  the  distorted  notions  of  any  Presbyterian  preacher,  particu- 
larly such  a  man  as  Mr  Andrew  Gray  of  Perth.  This  is  not  the  place 
to  discuss  the  important  principles  to  which  he  alludes  respecting 
"  pretendedly  ordained  persons,"  the  sacraments  administered  by  whom 
are  undoubtedly  "perfectly  null  and  invalid  ;"  and  if  Mr  Gray  chooses 
to  continue  in  such  a  position,  to  his  own  Master  he  stands  or  falls. 
Baptism  has  ever  been  considered  by  the  whole  Church,  from  the  days  of 
the  Apostles,  though  their  Baptism  is  not  mentioned,  to  be  solely  confined 
to  the  recipients  as  it  respects  the  spiritual  advantages  derived,  and  the 
benefits  conferred.  Three  things  are  generally  held  to  be  indispensable 
in  the  case  of  valid  baptism — the  authority  of  the  administrator,  the 
element  used,  and  the  words  pronounced ;  but  baptism  in  its  effects  is 
strictly  limited  to  those  who  by  its  regenerating  influence  are  duly  entered 
within  the  communion  of  the  Church,  and  cannot  be  transmitted  in 
the  same  ecclesiastical  manner  as  in  the  case  of  ordination,  or  if  Mr 
Gray  has  no  objection  to  the  stronger  term,  the  apostolical  succes- 
sion. Though  the  four  Prelates  from  whom  the  Church  in  Scotland 
derives  her  episcopate  and  authority  had  no  other  than  Presbyterian  bap- 
tism, that  could  not  in  the  very  nature  of  things  invalidate  their  con- 
secration, or  affect  in  the  least  degree  their  ecclesiastical  power.  It  is 
true  that  doubts  were  raised  in  the  primitive  times  about  the  validity 
of  baptism  as  administered  by  heretics,  and  it  is  denied  to  be  valid  by 
Tcrtullian  in  one  of  his  treatises,  on  the  ground  that  those  heretics  had 
not  the  same  God  and  the  same  Christ  as  the  orthodox.  St  Cyprian 
summoned  a  Synod  of  sixty-six  Bishops  at  Carthage,  in  which  it  was 
determined  that  no  baptism  was  valid  out  of  the  pale  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  that  therefore  it  was  necessary  to  rebaptize  those  who 
had  been  heretics.  But  Pope  Stephen  III.  disapproved  of  this  deci- 
sion, and  even  the  Romanists,  who  pretend  that  their  system  is  un- 
changed and  unchangeable  since  the  days  of  the  Apo>tlcs,  do  not  re- 
baptize  Presbyterian  converts,  or  those  whom  they  an- pleased  to  con- 
sider heretics,  but  admit  their  baptism,  if  done  with  water  in  the 
name  of  the  Trinity.  Tho  Scottish  Bishops  were  not  summoned  to 
England  to  be  baptized.  They  wen-  to  be  invested  with  the  epis- 
copal functions,  which  they  were  to  transmit  and  perpetuate  to  their 

B 


18  HISTORY  OF  THE 

successors  in  the  usual  canonical  manner.  It  was  a  power  conferred, 
and  at  the  same  time  derivative.  If  they  were  not  themselves  validly 
baptized,  they  were  affected  solely  as  individuals,  but  it  could  not  pos- 
sibly have  any  influence  on  their  acts  as  regularly  consecrated  Bishops  of 
the  Church,  the  ordinations  they  held,  and  the  sacraments  they  admi- 
nistered, even  though,  as  in  the  case  of  Quakers,  they  had  never  been 
baptized  at  all.  The  hallucination  under  which  Mr  Andrew  Gray  la- 
bours completely  proves  that  he  is  utterly  ignorant  of  the  real  nature  of 
the  sacrament  of  baptism,  as  well  as  of  the  perpetuation  of  the  Christian 
ministry  in  uninterrupted  succession  as  a  purely  spiritual  descent,  in 
conformity  to  the  declaration  of  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  Catholic, 
that  his  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world.  Mr  Gray's  perversion  of  Bishop 
Jolly's  sentiments  can  only  excite  feelings  of  pity  at  such  an  utter  want 
of  candour,  or  at  such  an  obtusity  of  comprehension.  He  asks — "  What 
now,  then,  becomes  of  the  pretended  apostolical  succession  among  our 
Scottish  Prelatists  ?"  We  answer,  that  it  is  just  where  it  was  before  he 
meddled  with  the  matter,  and  where  it  will  ever  be,  as  an  indispensable 
element  in  the  constitution  of  the  true  Church.  He  asks — "  Will  they 
(the  Scottish  Prelatists)  claim  it  (the  apostolical  succession)  still  ?  "  We 
answer,  that  we  will  claim  it,  in  defiance  of  all  that  he  or  his  friends,  such 
as  "  John  Brown,  D.D.,  Minister  of  Langton,  Berwickshire,"  can  write 
to  the  contrary  ;  because  to  relinquish  it  would  be  to  put  ourselves  on 
the  same  level  with  the  Presbyterians  and  modern  sectaries.  Mr  Gray 
finally  asks — "  What  inducement  now  can  they  hold  out  to  us  to  join 
them  ?  Have  they  purer  doctrines — more  faithful  discipline — more  effi- 
cacious sacraments — a  more  valid  ministry — or  even  a  better  title  to  the 
apostolical  succession  than  ourselves  ?"  We  answer,  that  in  all  these  par- 
ticulars we  conscientiously  believe  we  have,  and  hence  the  grand  and 
fundamental  reason  why  we  are,  what  he  calls  us,  Prelatists. 

In  the  "  Diary  of  Public  Transactions  and  other  Occurrences,  chiefly 
in  Scotland,  from  1650  to  1G67,  by  John  Nicoll,"*  who  resided  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  his  life  in  Edinburgh,  in  his  professional  character 
of  Writer  to  the  Signet  and  Notary- Public,  and  who  is  supposed  to  be  the 
John  Nicoll  put  in  nomination  as  Clerk  to  the  noted  Glasgow  General 
Assembly  of  1638,  when  Sir  Archibald  Johnstone  of  Warriston  was 

*  Published  in  1836,  in  one  vol.  4to,  by  the  Bannatyne  Club. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  19 

elected,  we  have  an  account  of  the  first  consecration  held  in  Scotland, 
after  the  return  of  Archbishop  Sharp  and  his  colleagues  from  London. 
This  was  in  the  Chapel-Royal  of  Holyrood,  now  in  ruins,  then  called 
the  Abbey  Church,  and  used  as  the  parish  church  of  the  Canongate,  on 
Wednesday  the  7th  of  May  1662.  Nicoll,  who  writes  as  if  he  had 
been  present,  and  he  probably  was,  informs  us  that  the  consecrating 
Prelates  were  Archbishop  Sharp  of  St  Andrews,  Archbishop  Fairfoull 
of  Glasgow,  and  Bishop  Hamilton  of  Galloway,  and  that  they  conse- 
crated seven  of  their  brethren  on  this  occasion,  viz.  George  Halybur 
ton,  Bishop  of  Dunkeld  ;*  Murdoch  Mackenzie,  Bishop  of  Moray ;  David 
Strachan,  Bishop  of  Brechin  ;  John  Paterson,  Bishop  of  Ross  ;  Patrick 
Forbes,  Bishop  of  Caithness  ;  David  Fletcher,  Bishop  of  Argyll ;  and 
Robert  Wallace,  Bishop  of  the  Isles.  According  to  Keith,  however, 
this  last  mentioned  Bishop  was  consecrated  at  St  Andrews  in  Januarv 
1661-2.  Nicoll  says,  that  "  eftir  this  consecratioun  of  seven  Bischops, 
thair  being  three  absent  (and  twa  of  thame  af  [out  of]  the  kingdome), 
viz.  the  Bischop  of  Orknay,  the  Bischop  of  Edinburgh,  and  the  Bischop 
of  Abirdeene,  they  came  not  to  Edinburgh  till  the  24th  of  May,  and 
so  thair  consecratioun  did  continue  till  the  first  day  of  June  thaireftir."t 
As  to  Bishop  Sydscrff  of  Orkney,  there  was  no  necessity  for  his  attend- 
ance, and  the  two  absent  Bishops  elect  were  Dr  George  Wishart,  already 
mentioned  as  the  Marquis  of  Montrose's  chaplain,  nominated  to  Edin- 
burgh, and  Dr  David  Mitchell,  nominated  to  Aberdeen.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  those  two  Prelates  were  consecrated  on  the  1st  of  June  1662, 
and  it  appears  from  Bishop  Keith  that  it  was  done  at  St  Andrews.  Both 
of  them  were  in  episcopal  orders,  for  Bishop  Mitchell,  who  had  retired 
into  England  after  the  General  Assembly  of  1638,  got  a  benefice,  and 
was  one  of  the  Prebendaries  of  Westminster  when  he  was  created  Doc 
tor  of  Divinity  at  Oxford  in  1661  ;  and  Bishop  Wishftrt,  who  had  been 
minister  of  North  Leith  before  the  Assembly  of  L638,  was  presented  to 
the  rectory  of  Newcastle-upon-Tyne 

NioolTfl  Account  of  the  consecration  in  the  Chapel- Koval  of  Efoljrood 

This  Bishop  is  prominently  psmtioned  in  s..m«>  of  the  "  Lateen  and  Journals*' 
-i'  Principal  Baillie  of  Glasgow,  «'«lit.-,i  bj  David  Laiag,  Esq.,  Librarian  to  the  Writ- 
t"  the  Signet,  Edinburgh,  published  in  184  I,  in  tun  rofamefl  large  ootara,  parti- 
oolarlj  rol.  ii.  |>.  47,  50. 

f  Nicoll's  Diary,  |.   .;.;<; 


20  HISTORY  OF  THE 

is  interesting.  "  All  the  nobles,  gentrie,  and  utheris  that  wer  heir  for 
the  tyme,  and  the  toun  of  Edinburgh,  with  thair  Counsell  and  officeris 
in  thair  best  apparell,  wer  reddie  to  contribute  thair  best  endeavours  for 
his  Majestie's  honor  and  respect  to  the  Bischops.  The  church  of  Haly- 
rudhous  being  prepared  and  maid  redy  for  thair  consecratioun,  numbers 
of  pepill  wer  convenit,  bot  nane  enterit  the  church  except  such  as  had 
passportis.  The  two  Archbischops  went  to  the  church  in  throw  the 
Abbay,  clothed  in  thair  white  surplices  under  thair  black  gownes,  ex- 
cept thair  sieves,  which  were  of  thin  white  of  delicate  cambric  or  lawn. 
All  the  inferior  Bischops  wer  consecrat,  nane  absent  except  thrie,  quha 
are  to  be  heir  with  diligence.  These  that  were  consecratouris  were  the 
two  Archbischops,  and  Mr  James  Hamilton,  now  Bishop  of  Galloway, 
quha  ordored  that  business  very  handsumlie  and  decentlie.  Befoir  the 
consecratione  thair  wes  a  sermon  maid  be  ane  Mr  James  Gordoun,  mi- 
nister at  Drumblade,  in  the  North  (Aberdeenshire),  whose  text  wes  the 
fourt  chaptour  of  the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthianes,  fyft  vers ; 
quhairin  he  actit  his  pairt  very  learnedlie,  and  held  out  the  faltis  of 
thair  predecessouris  that  made  thame  to  fall,  desyring  thame  not  to  en- 
croach upon  the  nobilitie,  bot  to  keip  thameselffis  sober,  and  not  to  ex- 
ceed the  boundis  of  thair  functioun — and  much  more  to  this  purpois. 
The  Archbischop  of  St  Androis  sat  thair  covered  with  his  episcopall  cap, 
or  four-nukit  bonnat.  All  that  wes  said  by  the  Bischop  at  the  conse- 
cratioun wes  read  of  ane  buik,  and  thair  prayeris  wer  lykwyse  read. 
The  first  prayer  wes  the  Lordis  Prayer,  and  sum  schort  prayer  or  ex- 
hortatioun  eftir  it ;  next  wes  the  Belief,  and  sum  lytill  exhortatioun 
eftir  it ;  thridlie,  the  Ten  Commandis  red,  and  eftir  it  sum  few  wordis 
of  exhortatioun  ;  much  more  to  this  purpose  not  necessar  to  be  written." 
The  Parliament  met  on  the  following  day,  when  Bishop  Hallyburton  of 
Dunkeld  preached  a  sermon,  "  quhilk,"  says  Nicoll,  "  indured  the  space 
of  two  hours  and  moir."  All  the  Bishops  attended  in  their  gowns  as 
Peers,  and  "  wer  resavit  with  much  honour,  and  placed  according  to 
thair  severall  degrees." 

At  the  re-establishment  of  the  Church  no  Liturgy  was  adopted,  but 
our  local  chronicler  supplies  us  with  some  information  respecting  the 
mode  of  conducting  divine  service,  as  authorised  by  Dr  Wishart,  Lord 
Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  in  that  city  and  diocese.  On  the  10th  of  Sep- 
tember 1662,  the  Privy  Council,  then  sitting  in  the  Palace  of  Holyrood- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  21 

house,  passed  an  act  "  for  balding  of  Diocesian  Assemblies,"  wbicb  is 
printed  by  Wodrow.*  It  was  proclaimed  on  the  13th,  and  with  great  state 
at  Glasgow  on  the  1st  of  October  by  the  Earl  of  Middleton,  Lord  High 
Commissioner  to  the  Parliament,  the  Earl  of  Glencairn,  Lord  Chancellor, 
the  Earl  of  Newburgh,  Captain  of  the  Life  Guards,  attended  by  numbers 
of  the  nobility  and  persons  of  distinction.  "  Eftir  the  publicatione  of 
the  foirsaid  act  of  Councill,"  says  Nicoll,  "  maid  at  Glasgow  the  1st  day 
of  October  1 662,  thair  wes  a  diocesiane  meeting  or  assemblie  haldin  at 
Edinburgh  by  the  Bischop  of  Edinburgh,  and  by  his  Dean  and  Chapter, 
upon  the  14th  day  of  the  same  moneth,  quhairin  these  particulars  follow- 
ing were  actit :  viz.  first,  thair  wer  appoynted  by  the  Bischop  two  of 
every  Presbyterie  to  prepare  business  for  the  Sinod,  quhome  he  termed 
the  bretherene  of  the  Conference  ;  nixt,  it  was  enactit  that  thair  sould  be 
morning  and  evenyng  prayeris  in  every  burgh,  and  in  everie  uthir  place 
quhair  thair  is  ony  confluence  of  pepill  ;  item,  that  the  Lordis  Prayer 
sould  be  repeited  once  by  the  minister  at  every  preaching,  or  twyse,  as 
the  minister  pleased  ;  item,  that  the  Doxologie,  or  'Glorie  to  the  Father,' 
being  a  song  composed  and  universallie  sung  in  the  Church  when  the 
Arianes  and  other  sectis  denyed  the  deitie  of  our  Saviour,  that  the  same 
be  agane  revived  and  sung,  this  being  a  tyme  quhairin  many  sectareis 
deny  the  godhead  of  Christ ;  item,  that  the  Belieff,  or  Apostles'  Creed, 
be  repeited  at  the  sacrament  of  baptism  by  the  father  of  the  chyld,  or 
by  the  minister  at  his  discretione  ;  item,  that  all  the  ministers  of  the 
diocese  who  did  not  conforme  to  the  act  of  Councill  above  mentionat, 
haldin  at  Glasgow,  repair  to  the  same,  and  be  indulged  to  cum  in  and  ac- 
cept of  collatione  from  the  Bischop  bctuix  and  the  25th  day  of  Novem- 
ber nixt  to  cum,  utherwayia  the  Bishop  is  to  proceid  againis  thame, 
and  fill  thair  kirkis  with  other  ministeris.  To  countenance  this  meet- 
ing, which  consisted  of  fifty-eight  ministeris,  the  King's  Advocat,  and 
my  Lord  Tarbet,  ane  of  the  Lordis  of  his  Majestie's  Counsell  and  Session, 
witli  the  Provost  and  Uailleis  of  Edinburgh,  were  present.  This  meet- 
in.;'  endit  the  morne  thaireftir,  and  wes  appoyntit  to  meet  eftir  Pasche 
(Easter)  next.  Tlio  Bischop  of  Edinburgh  tacht  that  day.  His  text 
wes   the  fyft  verse   of  tlio  4th  chaptour  to  the    Philippianes,    in    these 

vrordis: — '  La1  your  moderation  be  knawD  to  all  men  ;  the  Lord  i>  at 

•  Vol  i.  App  p  ('-:>.  8to  edit,  rol  i.  | 


22  HISTORY  OF  THE 

hand. '  But  all  this  did  not  pleis  the  pepill,  for  thair  wes  much  hatred 
of  the  Bischops  among  thame,  favouring  still  thair  awin  ministeris  and 
thair  doctrine,  and  haiting  Episcopacy."* 

This  hatred  to  the  Church,  which  Nicoll  and  other  contemporary 
writers,  both  Episcopal  and  Presbyterian,  record,  was  only  peculiarly 
violent  in  some  districts,  and  was  studiously  fomented  by  the  Cove- 
nanting preachers.  Nor  could  it  be  otherwise,  considering  the  dreadful 
convulsion  which  the  country  had  so  recently  encountered,  and  which 
had  been  latterly  kept  in  check  only  by  the  vigorous  government  of  Crom- 
well, who  during  his  domination  never  allowed  the  Presbyterian  Gene- 
ral Assemblies  to  meet,  and  his  strong  military  forces  were  the  best 
preservers  of  the  public  peace.  The  internal  state  of  Scotland  at  the 
time  is  admirably  delineated  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Mr  William  Cun- 
ningham, one  of  the  Presbyterian  ministers  of  Edinburgh,  which  appear- 
ed in  one  of  the  newspapers  published  in  that  city,  in  October  1839, 
from  which  the  following  is  an  extract.  The  letter,  let  it  be  observed,  is 
written  by  a  Presbyterian.  "  If,  again,  we  turn  to  the  golden  age  of  the 
Kirk,"  from  1638  to  1649,  and  subsequently,  "what  do  we  find  in  the 
page  of  history  ?  Under  the  banner  of  the  Solemn  League  and  Cove- 
nant, which  you  and  your  allies  so  often  hail  in  strains  of  grandilo- 
quence almost  poetical,  we  find  a  barefaced  and  open  usurpation  of  civil 
and  political  as  well  as  spiritual  authority — civil  wars  of  the  bloodiest 
description — intolerance  unmitigated — persecution  by  the  Kirk  in  its 
most  aggravated  forms,  and  the  calamitous  drama  wound  up  by  the  en- 
tire subversion  of  the  constitution,  by  the  murder  of  the  sovereign,  the 
destruction  of  the  peerage  in  England,  and  the  national  liberties  and  in- 
dependence of  Scotland  trodden  under  foot  by  an  usurper,  brought  into 
the  bosom  of  their  native  land  by  the  traitorous  co-operation  of  the  do- 
minant Kirk  'party  in  Scotland.  These  were  the  undeniable  results  of  a 
power  in  the  Kirk,  with  revivals  of  which  you  and  your  compatriots 
would  once  more  favour  us."  Such  were  some  of  the  fruits  of  that 
dreadful  convulsion  fomented  by  the  well-known  Glasgow  General  As- 
sembly of  1638,  and  the  results  of  it  were  too  recent  to  be  eradicated  in 
1662  from  the  minds  of  an  ignorant,  opinionative,  and  obstinate  pea- 
santry, whose  brains  were  constantly  inflamed  and  agitated  against  the 

♦  Nicoll's  Diary,  p.  380,  381. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  23 

Episcopal  Established  Church  by  the  falsest  misrepresentations,  the 
most  unscrupulous  assertions,  and  the  most  malignant  hatred,  of  her 
preaching  enemies. 

As  to  the  public  feeling  respecting  the  Church  in  the  Highland  coun- 
ties, the  following  extract  from  a  valuable  work  printed  in  1842  will 
best  elucidate  the  state  of  matters  as  operating  among  the  Chiefs  and 
their  Clans.  The  Argyll  here  mentioned  was  Archibald  eighth  Earl 
and  first  Marquis  of  Argyll,  the  political  rival  of  the  Marquis  of  Mon- 
trose, who  was  beheaded  for  high  treason  at  Edinburgh  on  the  27th  of 
May  1661.  What  is  said  of  the  Clan  Cameron  is  equally  applicable  to 
many  other  Clans  in  reference  to  their  religious  opinions.  "  That  which 
engaged  the  Clan  Cameron  to  Argyle  was  not  any  antipathy  that  they 
had  to  the  Bishops  or  Service-Book,  &c.  more  than  their  neighbours  the 
Ardgylemen,  being  that  most  of  the  people  in  these  places  are  barbarouse, 
or  if  they  incline  to  anie  profession  it  is  mostlie  to  Poperie.  But  the 
Clan  Cameron  joyned  with  the  Covenanters  in  opposition  to  Huntlye's 
familve,  to  whom  most  of  them  are  vassalls  in  Lochaber,  and  had  been 
several  times  before  crubbed  by  the  Earles  of  Huntly  by  force  of  arms, 
which  made  them  now  glad  for  to  lay  holde  upon  anye  occasion  of  re- 
venge. Besydc,  this  Argyle  had  ane  eye  to  these  places,  either  to 
weaken  Huntly,  as  seeing  much  of  his  greatnesse  did  consist  in  his 
Highland  following,  or  if  he  could  get  a  pretext  for  to  gripp  to  Huntly 's 
Highland  laundes  himself,  as  afterward  he  did.  But  all  such  at  that 
tymc  were  welcome  to  the  Covenant ;  albeit  afterward,  about  the  time 
of  Charles  II.  his  incoming,  anno  1650,  they  changed  their  principles, 
and  A rg  vile  was  accessory  to  the  purging  as  knowing  and  civill  men 
out  of  the  King's  army  as  either  the  Argylle  men  or  the  Lochaber  men 
were.  Yet  lett  it  be  remembered  that  a  part  of  the  Clan  Cameron  at 
this  tyme  and  long  afterward  owned  the  King's  quarrell,  for  most  of 
the  Highlanders  arc  inclyned,  being  left  to  themselves,  to  be  Royalists, 
happy,  at  least,  though  they  have  little  learning,  that  thej  have  not 
learned  to  distinguish  themselves  out  of  their  loyalty  by  notion-  on- 
known  till  the  latter  ag 

<  >ui-  local  diarist  Xicoll  Bupplies  us  with  several  curious  information 
respecting  the  Btate  of  the  Church  in  L662.     "The  indulgence  given 

Memoirs  of  Lochiel),  Notes  and  Illustrations,  Ito,  \<  843,  printed  in  1842  for 
M  ait  land,  and  other  <  flub 


24  HISTORY  OF  THE 

by  the  Bischop  of  Edinburgh  to  the  ministrie  of  his  diocese  did  move 
many  of  thame  to  cum  in,  and  to  accept  collatioun  from  him  before  the 
day  appoynted,  and  to  submit  thameselfns  to  the  prelaticall  ordouris. 
The  instabilitie  of  the  church  government  for  many  yeiris  bygane  hes 
bene  observit  in  severall  of  my  paperis,  and  among  utheris  how  that  the 
reiding  of  Scriptures  by  reidars  and  singing  of  Psalms  did  ceis,  and  in 
place  thairof  the  examining  brocht  into  the  Church  by  two  boyes,  and 
thaireftir  lectures  by  ministers,  which  did  not  satisfy  the  pepill ;  quhair- 
foir  the  singing  of  Psalms  wes  brought  in  agane  in  the  kirkis  of  Edin- 
burgh in  the  beginning  of  October  1653  ;  and  now  this  yeir,  1662,  the 
reiding  of  Scriptures  wes  of  new  brocht  in  agane,  and  the  Psalmes  sung, 
with  this  additioun,  '  Glorie  to  the  Father,  to  the  Son,  and  to  the 
Holy  Ghost. '  This  now  brocht  in  by  autoritie  of  the  bischops  with  greater 
devotioun  than  ever  befoir,  for  all  the  pepill  rais  at  the  singing,  '  Glorie 
to  the  Father,'  &c."*  These  decent  and  becoming  observances  in  pub- 
lic worship  were  bitterly  assailed  by  the  Presbyterian  preachers  as  su- 
perstitious and  unscriptural,  and  it  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  in 
many  parts  of  Scotland  the  people,  especially  those  of  them  who  are 
Presbyterian  Dissenters,  dislike  and  object  to  the  reading  of  the  Scrip- 
tures by  their  teachers  in  the  public  congregation.  "  While  fanaticism 
prevailed  in  Scotland,"  says  Mr  Charles  Kirkpatrick  Sharpe,  "  it  was 
customary  to  give  free  vent  to  all  the  pious  feelings,  and  to  practise 
every  grimace  of  hypocrisy,  during  the  celebration  of  divine  service  : — 
'  12th  October,  1650.  In  Edinburgh  and  other  places  the  Scots  came 
to  hear  our  ministers,  and  they  made  such  a  groaning  noyse  in  the  time 
of  prayers  as  I  never  saw,  as  if  they  were  extraordinary  affected  there- 
with, but  it  seems  it  is  the  custom  of  the  people  here  to  do  soe,  by  a 
form  and  custom  that  they  have  used.'  "t  Yet  the  reflecting  classes 
were  rapidly  beginning  to  subside  in  their  opposition  to  the  Church,  as 
may  be  inferred  from  the  following  flaming  expostulation  by  the  noted 
Alexander  Peden,  in  a  sermon  preached  by  him  at  Glenluce  : — "  Ye 
were  all  perjured  in  the  beginning  in  complying  with  Prelacy,  and  hear- 
ing these  cursed  curates,  after  ye  had  covenanted  and  sworn  to  God, 


*  Nicoll's  Diary,  p.  381,  382.  j-  Letter  from  an  Englishman  at  Edinburgh 

printed  in  the  Diurnal  Note,  apud  Mr  Charles  Kirkpatrick  Sharpe's  edition  of  Kirk- 
ton's  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  p.  150,  151. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUPvCH.  25 

and  engaged  yourselves  in  that  covenanted  work  of  Reformation  ;  and 
as  long  as  ye  mourn  not  for  that  sin  as  much  as  for  whoredom,  adulterie, 
murder,  or  stealing,  the  gospel  will  never  do  you  good."  This  man 
Peden  was  held  in  great  repute  among  his  party  as  a  kind  of  prophet. 
Even  Kirkton,  when  recording  that  of  the  900  ministers  in  Scotland,  by 
the  Act  of  Uniformity  300  were  turned  out  and  became  field  preachers, 
hill  men,  or  wild  men,  as  they  were  called,  states,  after  praising  their 
conduct — "  Yet  such  was  the  weakness  of  the  people  that  many  of  them 
began  to  censure  what  they  had  formerly  approven,  and  the  ministers' 
bitter  suffering  turned  with  some  rather  into  offence  than  ane  edifying 
example.  Such  was  the  cloud  upon  us  at  that  time,  ignorance,  scrupu- 
losity, and  censure,  being  frequently  conjoyned  in  our  sad  experience."* 
He  refers  in  this  passage  to  the  year  1662. 

Nicoll  farther  records — "  The  Bischops  became  indulgent  to  the  mi- 
nisteris  that  remised  to  take  thair  ordouris,  and  gave  mony  of  thame 
libertie  to  preache  openlio  till  the  [first]  day  of  Februar  nixt  1663.  But 
this  license  and  libertie  were  remised  to  such  as  wer  panellit  [under 
legal  or  criminal  prosecution],  and  to  such  quhais  kirkis  were  provydit 
to  uther  ministeris  during  their  disobedience.'' 

It  may  probably  be  supposed,  that  the  Bishops  immediately  conse- 
crated by  Archbishop  Sharp  and  his  colleagues  were  induced  to  conform 
to  the  Church  on  account  of  the  temporalities  they  would  derive  from 
their  respective  Sees.  The  very  reverse  was  the  case.  Those  revenues 
wire  greatly  inferior  to  the  incomes  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Bishops 
before  the  Reformation.  It  is  appropriately  observed  by  a  well  known 
local  writer,  that  "  the  episcopal  dignitaries  in  1572,  down  to  the  Re- 
volution, hardly  enjoyed  that  rank  or  influence  which  their  brethren  in 
England  possessed  ;  for  on  the  one  hand  they  were  narrowly  watched, 
and  their  conduct  strictly  scrutinized,  by  the  Covenanting  Presbyterians, 
while  the  ambitious  nobility  made  an  undue  use  of  them,  by  stripping 
the  Church  of  its  revenues,  that  they  might  apply  the  greater  part  to 
their  own  use,  under  tlio  colour  of  law."  |  But  statistical  furU  are  of 
more   importance  on    this   subject  than   mere  opinions,  and  some  idea 

may  be  formed  of  the  episcopal  revenues  of  the  Scottish  Church,  from 
the  Restoration  to  tho  Revolution,  by  the  following  table,  as  accounted 

•  Kfrktona  History  <-f  (!;.•  Church  oi  Sc  tlan  l.  p.  152.  f  D*  Cleland'a  annali 
el  Glasgow,  vol.  i.  j.  121, 


26  HISTORY  OF  THE 

for  by  the  Receiver-General  of  Bishops'  rents  in  the  Scottish  Exchequer. 
The  reader  will  observe  that  the  gross  sums  are  those  of  1831,  and  in- 
clude the  revenues  in  money  Scots,  and  what  was  paid  to  the  Arch- 
bishops and  Bishops  in  produce,  such  as  wheat,  barley,  oats,  pease,  &c. 
The  sums  are  in  money  sterling. 

Archbishopric  of  St  Andrews,  -                         -             L.1544  6     1 

Bishopric  of  Edinburgh,  -           -           -          -               93  6  10 

Bishopric  of  Moray,     -  -              -                             198  8     1 

Bishopric  of  Brechin,  -             -             -              -           76  611 

Bishopric  of  Aberdeen,  -                                           288  10  11 

Bishopric  of  Ddnkeld,  -            -             -             -152  88 

Bishopric  of  Dunblane,  -             -             -                  43  19     1 

Bishopric  of  Caithness,  ...         547  410 

Bishopric  of  Ross,            -  -              -             -                   452  0     7 

Bishopric  of  Orkney,  ....         1366  2     8 

Archbishopric  of  Glasgow,  ...               1294  5     7 

Bishopric  of  Galloway,  -                                       228  12     0 

Bishopric  of  Argyll,     I  140  0     0 
Bishopric  of  the  Isles,  J 

It  thus  appears  that  the  love  of  money  could  not  be  the  inducement 
of  the  Bishops  of  Scotland  after  the  Restoration  to  conform  to  the 
Church,  the  greater  part  of  the  immense  property  of  which  had  been 
seized  by  the  rapacious  nobility  at  the  Reformation.  Even  Kirkton 
notices  Bishop  Leighton  favourably  when  he  accepted  the  nomination  to 
Dunblane  : — "  Thus,"  he  says,  "  he  choised  to  demonstrate  to  the  world 
avarice  was  not  his  principle,  it  being  the  smallest  revenue  ;"  and  cer- 
tainly a  bishopric,  the  income  of  which  was  only  L.43,  19s.  Id.,  was  as 
limited  a  revenue  as  the  fiercest  Covenanter  could  have  wished  to  be 
awarded.  He  farther  observes — "  Mr  David  Strachan  was  made  poor 
Bishop  of  Brechin,"  and  poor  it  was  with  its  income  of  L.76,  6s.  lid. 
So  poor  was  this  See  that  Bishop  Laurie,  one  of  his  successors,  retain- 
ed his  incumbency,  or,  as  Keith  expresses  it,  he  "  continued  to  exercise  a 
particular  ministry,"  of  Trinity  College  Church  in  Edinburgh,  with  the 
Deanery  of  that  Diocese.  Bishop  Fletcher  of  Argyll  retained  his  parish 
of  Melrose  for  the  same  reason,  the  revenues  both  of  that  See  and  of 
the  Isles  having  been  appropriated  by  the  Earls  of  Argyll  to  their  own 
use  at  the  Reformation.  It  is  admitted  by  a  Presbyterian  writer,  that 
"  the  remnant  of  the  Popish  Church  estates  which  descended  to  the 


^ 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  27 

Reformed  Episcopal  Church  appears  to  have  been  very  inconsiderable 
indeed ;  and  if  we  take  the  present  computed  estimate  of  their  annual 
value,  the  whole  Episcopal  Hierarchy  of  Scotland  seem  to  have  subsist- 
ed on  what  is  now  reckoned  insufficient  for  a  single  Prelate  in  England 
or  Ireland.  But  we  strongly  suspect  that  this  limited  patrimony,  inde- 
pendently of  avowed  appropriations  to  secular  as  well  as  sacred  purposes, 
has  been  much  dilapidated  by  modern  encroachments."  It  is  certainly 
almost  incredible  that  the  Bishops  of  Edinburgh,  from  the  Restoration 
to  the  Revolution,  should  have  had  no  greater  revenue  from  the  See  than 
L.93,  and  those  of  Brechin  and  Dunblane  respectively  L.7G  and  L.43  ; 
yet  these  are  the  total  amounts  of  the  several  revenues  of  the  Sees  now 
mentioned  as  having  passed  to  the  Crown  at  the  Revolution,  and  as 
they  are  now  set  down  in  the  reports  of  the  Scottish  Exchequer,  when 
the  management  was  transferred  to  the  Board  of  Woods  and  Forests  in 
1832.  It  is  also  surprising  that  the  revenues  of  the  Bishops  of  Dun- 
keld,  Argyll,  and  the  Isles,  should  have  dwindled  to  the  paltry  sums,  in 
the  case  of  Dunkeld,  of  L.152,  8s.  8d.,  and  in  the  case  of  the  two  others 
to  about  L.120  conjointly.  The  same  remark  applies  to  the  two  Arch 
bishoprics  and  the  other  Sees,  for  it  is  at  present  inexplicable  that  be- 
nefices of  such  dignity  and  importance,  the  revenues  of  which  were  for 
the  most  part  paid  in  produce,  and  not  much  liable  to  permanent  depre- 
ciation, should  have  sunk  so  low.  It  is  officially  admitted,  that  "  upon 
the  abolition  of  Episcopacy,  when  the  Bishops'  rents  came  into  thepos- 
Bession  of  the  Crown,  the  rentals  thereof  delivered  over  to  the  officers 
of  the  Crown  were  very  inaccurate  and  defective,  and  it  was  found  im- 
possible to  discover  the  persons  or  lands  liable  in  payment  of  many  of 
the  duties  contained  in  them."*  It  is  therefore  clear  that  no  serious 
attempt  lias  ever  been  made  by  the  competent  authorities  to  invest] 
gate  the  condition  of  the  Church  estates  in  Scotland,  since  they  passed 
from  the  possession  of  the  Bishops  in  1G8J),  and  that  considerable  di- 
lapidations have  taken  place  in  consequence  of  careless  superintendence. 

<  >f  this  latter  fact  there  are  several  strong  proofs.    The  char  rental  of  the 

Bishopric  of  Galloway  at  the   Revolution  amounted  to  L.5634,    L5s. 

ScOtS,  a    Mini  onljf  exceeded    by  the    reVcinir-    of  the    fcWO   Archbishop-  J 
and  the  rental  of  the  Bishopric  of   Morav  Lfl  L.L;:i<»7,  98.  -Id.  Scots,  Bfl  if 

•  Report  of  the  General  Collector  of  Bishops'   Rente  in  Scotland,  in  Eleventh 
i;  po  '  of  the  Board  oi  Wc    i    and  Port   I  !9th  I  ilj  1884. 


28  HISTORY  OF  THE 

now  stands  in  the  Collector's  books,  but  at  the  Revolution  it  was  about 
L.6000  Scots,  or  L.500  sterling.  In  this  latter  diocese,  as  was  proba- 
bly the  case  in  the  others,  the  temporalities  were  granted  by  King 
William's  Government  to  noblemen  and  gentlemen  of  the  district,  and 
the  superiorities  are  still  paid  to  the  crown. 

The  ancient  Court  of  Exchequer  in  Scotland,  the  officers  of  which 
collected  the  royal  revenues,  passed  crown  gifts,  and  discharged  other 
important  duties,  and  the  judges  of  which  decided  in  all  cases  connected 
with  those  revenues,  was  remodelled,  or  rather  refounded,  after  the 
Union.  Those  judges  might  be  either  English  or  Scottish  lawyers, 
but  they  were  enjoined  to  decide  according  to  the  English  forms.  In 
this  Court  was  the  officer  called  the  Receiver- General  of  Bishops'  Bents, 
who  was  discontinued  in  1834,  though  the  rents  are  still  collected  by 
authority  of  the  Court.  The  Court  of  Teinds,  or  of  Tithes,  origi- 
nated in  episcopal  times,  namely,  in  1617,  1633,  and  1661,  when  commis- 
sions were  appointed  for  "  planting"  churches  and  "  modifying"  stipends 
to  the  parochial  clergy.  The  members  of  those  commissions,  with  which 
the  Bishops  were  always  connected,  could  erect  new  churches,  regulate 
stipends,  unite  small  churches,  divide  parishes,  remove  churches  to  more 
convenient  parts  of  the  parishes,  and  value  and  sell  tithes.  After  the 
establishment  of  Presbyterianism  a  commission  was  named  in  1693  ; 
but  in  1707  all  the  powers  of  those  commissions  were  transferred  to  the 
Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  Scotland,  whose  proceedings  are  sub- 
ject to  the  review  of  the  House  of  Lords. 

With  whomsoever  the  fault  may  be  respecting  the  dilapidation  of  the 
Church  revenues  in  Scotland,  nothing  dishonourable  or  selfish  can  be 
charged,  or  has  ever  been  insinuated,  against  the  Archbishops  and  Bishops 
at  the  Revolution.  It  is  subsequently  narrated  that  those  upright  and 
conscientious  Prelates  were  summarily  compelled  to  quit  their  Sees,  and 
their  revenues  were  held  to  have  devolved  to  the  Crown  jure  coronas, 
though  those  revenues  were  never  annexed  to  the  Crown  by  any  special 
parliamentary  statute,  with  the  exception,  probably,  of  the  act  passed  in 
1690,  "  anent  the  superiority  of  lands  and  others  which  formerly  held 
of  Prelates  or  Bishops  and  their  Chapters,  to  be  now  held  of  the  King 
and  Queen."*     Small  pensions  were  allowed  by  the  new  sovereign  and 

*  Acta  Parliamentorum  Scotorum,  vol.  ix.  p.  199. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  29 

government  to  the  ejected  Bishops  during  their  lives,  which  is  another 
proof  that  they  were  not  parties  to  any  act  of  dilapidation  or  private 
appropriation.  The  disestablishment  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  therefore, 
was  of  no  pecuniary  advantage  to  the  Scottish  people  ;  and  those  who 
think  proper  to  compliment  the  Presbyterians  for  overthrowing  what 
they  ignorantly  call  an  expensive  Hierarchy  have  evidently  never  studied 
the  matter,  or  inquired  into  the  facts,  which  are  proved  by  official  and 
parliamentary  documents  of  undoubted  authenticity.  The  most  active 
and  bitter  opponents  of  the  Church  never  clamoured  about  the  Bishops 
possessing  wealthy  revenues.  The  Crown  assumed  them  when  the 
Church  was  disestablished,  and  continues  to  the  present  time  to  levy  the 
episcopal  revenues  in  the  same  manner  as  if  there  was  a  Bishop  recog- 
nized by  law  in  every  See  in  Scotland.  The  only  exceptions  to  this 
actual  state  of  affairs  are  the  Bishoprics  of  Argyle  and  of  the  Isles.  It 
appears  that  by  gift  from  Queen  Anne,  dated  July  14,  1705,  the  rents 
and  revenues  of  these  Bishoprics,  amounting  conjointly  to  about  L.140, 
are  granted  during  pleasure,  or  until  the  same  shall  be  recalled  by  any  of 
her  Majesty's  royal  successors,  to  the  Moderator  and  Provincial  Synod 
of  Argyll  in  the  Presbyterian  Establishment,  in  trust,  to  be  by  them 
applied  for  instituting  schools,  repairing  churches,  educating  and  train- 
ing ministers,  and  other  ends  and  uses.  These  rents  are  collected  by  a 
person  appointed  by  the  Synod,  and  are  appropriated  to  the  purposes 
mentioned  in  the  grant. 

If  Scotland  has  gained  nothing  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view  by  the 
deposition  of  the  Bishops  at  the  Revolution,  no  alteration  lias  been  made 
by  the  Presbyterian  parochial  ministers.  The  present  incumbents  arc 
paid  their  stipends  in  the  same  manner  as  were  their  canonically  or- 
dained predecessors  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  from  the  tithes,  orteinds,  as 
they  arc  called,  and  the  landed  proprietors  and  heritors  are  legally 
obliged  to  defray  all  the  public  burdens  of  their  respective  parishes. 

It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  the  present  volumo  to  glance  at  the 
troubles  and  contentions  in  Scotland  from  the  Restoration  to  the  Re- 
volution. It  is  sufficient  to  state  that  during  the  establishment  of  the 
church  the  kingdom  was  ecclesiastically  divided  into  two  Archiepis- 
copal  Proving  In  the  Metropolitan  Province  of  St  AflDRBwa  irere 
the  luffiragan  Bishoprics  of  Edinburgh,  Aberdeen.  Brechin,  Caithness, 


30  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Dunkeld,  Dunblane,  Moray,  Orkney,  and  Ross.  In  the  Province  of 
Glasgow  were  the  suffragan  Bishoprics  of  Galloway,  Argyll,  and  the 
Isles. 

The  industry  of  Bishop  Keith  has  preserved  a  few  notices  of  the 
Bishops  who  occupied  the  Sees  of  the  Scottish  Church  at  the  Revolu- 
tion.    His  mode  of  classification  is  followed  in  the  subsequent  "  cata- 
logue" A  few  additional  particulars  are  collected  from  various  sources. 
The  Archbishop  of  St  Andrews  at  the   Revolution  was  the  Most 
Reverend  Arthur  Ross,  the  son  of  a  clergyman  in  the  Diocese  of  Aber- 
deen. When  "  Parson"  of  Glasgow  he  was  promoted  to  the  See  of  Ar- 
gyll, at  the  death  of  Bishop  William  Scroggie  in  1675,  to  which  he  was 
consecrated  at  Edinburgh  in  the  month  of  May,  with  Bishop  Paterson 
for  Galloway,  by  Archbishop  Leighton  of  Glasgow,  Bishop  Young  of 
Edinburgh,  and  another  Bishop  whose  name  is  not  mentioned,*  from 
which  he  was  translated  to  the  Archbishopric  of  Glasgow  in  1679,  and 
to  the  Primacy  of  Sft  Andrews,  by  royal  letters  patent,   in  October 
1684.     He  died  in  1704,  and  was  probably  interred  in  the  church-yard 
of  Restalrig,  near  Leith,  for  a  monumental  inscription  in  the  Canongate 
burying-ground,  Edinburgh,  records  that  his  tomb  or  family  vault  is 
in  that  cemetery.     His  daughter  Anne  married,  in  1687,  John  fourth 
Lord  Balmerino,  and  was  the  mother  of  Arthur  sixth  Lord,  beheaded 
on  Tower-Hill  in  1746  with  the  Earl  of  Kilmarnock,  for  being  concern- 
ed in  the  Enterprise  of  Prince  Charles  Edward. 

The  Right  Rev.  Alexander  Rose,  Bishop  of  Moray  in  1687,  was 
translated  that  year  to  Edinburgh.  This  Prelate,  whose  name  is  invested 
with  a  peculiar  interest  in  the  Church,  as  the  longest  survivor  of  the 
ejected  Bishops,  was  of  an  ancient  family  in  the  North  of  Scotland. 
He  took  his  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  at  King's  College,  Aberdeen,  and 
studied  theology  at  Glasgow  under  Dr  Gilbert  Burnet,  afterwards  Bishop 
of  Salisbury.  His  first  preferment  was  to  be  minister  of  Perth,  and  he 
was  afterwards  appointed  Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  University  of 
Glasgow.  In  1684  he  was  nominated  by  the  Crown  to  be  Principal  of 
St  Mary's  College,  St  Andrews,  and  the  royal  warrant  for  his  conse- 
cration to  the  See  of  Moray  was  dated  the  8th  of  March  1687,  from 

*  Law's  Memorialls,  4to,  1818,  p.  77. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  31 

which  he  was  translated  to  Edinburgh  ''before,"  says  Bishop  Keith, 
"  he  had  taken  personal  possession  of  this  See  of  Moray."  In  1684  Bi- 
shop Rose  published  a  very  eloquent  and  learned  discourse,  entitled,  "  A 
Sermon  preached  before  the  Right  Honourable  the  Lords  Commission- 
ers of  His  Majesty's  Most  Honourable  Privy  Council  at  C41asgow,"* 
and  is  dedicated  to  the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  Lord  Lundin,  Secretary  of 
State,  and  Lord  Collinton,  Lord  Justice-Clerk.  The  discourse  is 
founded  on  Acts  xxvi.  28  : — "  Almost  thou  persuadest  me  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian." It  comprises  four  heads  : —  "  1.  The  different  parties  of  our 
divided  Zion.  2.  The  malignancy  of  the  national  sin  of  schism.  3. 
The  necessity  of  Episcopacy  for  supporting  the  prime  concernments  of 
Christianity.  4.  A  brief  application."  This  sermon  proves  Bishop 
Rose  to  have  been  a  man  of  profound  learning. 

The  Right  Reverend  John  Hamilton,  Bishop  of  Dunkcld,  was  a  son  of 
John  Hamilton  of  Blair,  and  of  his  wife,  the  Honourable  Barbara  El- 
phinstone  (called  Mary  in  the  Peerage  Lists),  second  daughter  of  James 
first  Lord  Balmerino.  The  father  of  this  Prelate,  according  to  Bishop 
Keith,  was  a  descendant  of  John  Hamilton,  last  Roman  Catholic  Arch- 
bishop of  St  Andrews,  who  obtained  an  act  of  legitimation  from  the 
Scottish  Parliament  in  favour  of  his  children,  from  which  it  appears 
that,  like  his  predecessor  Cardinal  Beaton,  he  did  not  practise  a  life  of 
continency.  Bishop  Hamilton  was  either  nominated  or  consecrated  to 
the  See  of  Dunkeld  on  the  19th  of  October  1G86. 

The  See  of  Aberdeen  was  filled  by  Dr  George  Hallyburton,  descended 
from  a  collateral  branch  of  the  ancient  family  of  Hallyburton  of  Pitenr 
in  Forfarshire.  His  first  preferment  was  the  parish  of  Cupar- Angus  in 
that  county,  and  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Brechin  in  1 G78.  In  tlii- 
See  he  continued  till  his  translation  to  Aberdeen  in  1G82.  "While  Bishop 
<>t  Brechin  he  was  Provost  of  that  city  in  1078,  and  is  often  subsequent h 
mentioned  in  the  burgh  records  as  sitting  in  the  Town  Council  when  any 
public  business  of  importance  was  to  be  transacted.  "Bishop  Halli- 
burton's attention  to  civil  matters,"  says  a  local  writer.  "  does  not  ap- 
pear to  have  interrupted  the  proper  discharge  of  his  ecclesiastical 
duties,  for  lie  often  presided  at  meetings  of  session,  frequently  preached 

•    This  vi tv  MtrOC  production  is   in  a  volume  of  painphk-ts  in   tfw  Atlwcato.s    Li- 
brary, Edinburgh,  marked  IT.  7.  10,  in  small  4to. 


32  HISTORY  OF  THE 

during  week  days,  and  was  always  present  at  Christmas,  although,  as  we 
believe,  he  did  not  generally  reside  in  Brechin."* 

The  Bishop  of  Moray  at  the  Revolution  was  Dr  William  Hay,  who 
was  born  in  1647,  educated  at  King's  College,  Aberdeen,  in  which  city 
he  was  admitted  into  holy  orders  by  Patrick  Scougall,  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese  from  1664  to  1682,  and  whose  character  is  finely  delineated  in 
the  Preface  to  the  Life  of  Bishop  Bedell.  Bishop  Hay  was  at  first  in- 
cumbent of  Kilconquhar  in  Fife,  from  which  he  was  removed  to  Perth, 
where  he  was  at  the  time  of  the  warrant  for  his  consecration,  which 
Bishop  Keith  says  was  dated  the  4th  of  February  1688,  the  very 
year  of  the  Revolution.  He  was  consecrated  at  St  Andrews  on  the 
11th  of  March.  In  the  old  church-yard  of  Inverness  a  monument 
was  erected  to  his  memory,  with  an  inscription  in  elegant  Latin  to 
the  following  effect : — "  Sacred  to  the  Memory  of  the  Right  Reverend 
Father  in  God,  William  Hay,  Professor  of  Theology,  a  most  deserving 
Bishop  of  Moray — a  Prelate  of  primitive  holiness  and  great  eloquence, 
at  all  times  a  constant  maintainer  of  the  Church  and  regal  dignity,  as 
well  in  their  afflicted  as  in  their  flourishing  condition.  He  adorned  the 
episcopal  mitre  by  his  piety,  and  honoured  the  same  by  the  integrity 
of  his  life  and  affable  behaviour.  Exhausted  by  study  and  a  twenty 
years'  palsy,  a  most  blessed  end  followed  his  upright  life.  John  Cuth- 
bert,  his  son-in-law,  erected  this  homely  monument." 

The  Bishop  of  Brechin  was  the  Right  Rev.  James  Drummond,  son  of 
the  Rev.  James  Drummond,  minister  of  Foulis  in  Perthshire.  This 
Bishop  was  successively  incumbent  of  Auchterarder  and  Muthill  in  the 
same  county.  He  was  consecrated  on  Christmas  Day  1684,  in  the 
Chapel-Royal  of  Holyroodhouse.  He  was  a  near  relative  of  the  Earl 
of  Perth,  who  was  a  zealous  Roman  Catholic  nobleman,  but  "  the  Bi- 
shop is  reported  to  have  been  a  man  of  strict  Protestant  principles,  and 
a  decided  opponent  of  King  James'  interference  with  the  Church,  al- 
though he,  like  most  of  his  brethren,  was  a  keen  supporter  of  hereditary 
monarchy,  and  took  a  decided  part  with  King  James  when  most  of  his 
courtiers  deserted  him.  Bishop  Drummond  preached  in  Brechin  for  the 
last  time  on  Sunday,  18th  April  1689,  on  the  occasion  of  the  admini- 
stration of  the  holy  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  His  text  was 
taken  from  the  12th  chapter,  first  verse,  of  St  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
*  History  of  Brechin,  by  David  D.  Black,  Town  Clerk,  1839,  p.  86. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  33 

mans,  a  text  which  does  not  imply  that  he  thought  this  sermon  was  the 
last  which  would  be  delivered  by  a  Bishop  in  the  Cathedral  Church  of 
Brechin."*  He  was  Provost  of  Brechin  in  1685,  when  he  was  present 
in  the  Town  Council  on  the  25th  of  September,  and  preached  in  the 
Cathedral  on  the  1st  of  October.  He  succeeded  Dr  Alexander  Cairn- 
cross,  translated  to  the  Archbishopric  of  Glasgow,  who,  after  the  Revo- 
lution, became  Bishop  of  Raphoe  in  Ireland. 

Dr  Robert  Douglas  filled  the  ancient  and  venerable  See  of  Dunblane. 
He  was  the  grandson  of  Sir  Archibald  Douglas  of  Glenbervie.  His  first 
promotion  was  the  benefice  of  Laurencekirk  in  Kincardineshire,  to  which 
he  was  appointed  during  the  existence  of  the  so  called  Commonwealth. 
After  the  Restoration  he  was  presented  by  Charles  II.  to  the  parish  of 
Bothwell  in  Lanarkshire,  and  thence  he  was  removed  to  the  small  royal 
burgh  of  Renfrew,  in  the  county  of  that  name.  He  was  next  translated, 
on  the  presentation  of  his  near  relative  the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  to  the 
parsonage  of  Hamilton,  which  included  the  Deanery  of  Glasgow  ;  and 
he  was  soon  afterwards  nominated  and  consecrated  Bishop  of  Dunblane. 
A  son  of  this  prelate,  the  Rev.  Robert  Douglas,  minister  of  Bothwell, 
was  also  deprived  of  his  benefice  at  the  Revolution. 

The  See  of  Ross  was  filled  by  the  Right  Rev.  James  Ramsay,  son  of 
the  Rev.  Robert  Ramsay,  minister  of  Dundonald  in  Ayrshire,  and  after- 
wards Principal  of  the  University  of  Glasgow.  His  first  preferment 
was  the  parish  of  Kirkintilloch  in  the  county  of  Dunbarton,  from  which 
he  was  removed  to  Linlithgow.  He  next  received  the  Deanery  of  Glas- 
gow, to  which  the  parsonage  of  Hamilton  was  annexed,  and  in  this  pre- 
ferment he  was  consequently  the  predecessor  of  Bishop  Douglas.  When 
Bishop  Leighton  was  translated  to  the  Archbishopric  of  Glasgow,  Mr 
Ramsay  was  consecrated  his  successor,  and  in  May  1G84  he  was  re- 
moved from  that  Sec  to  the  Diocese  of  Ro 

The  Bishop  of  Caithness  was  the  Kight  Rev.  Andrew  Wood,  son 
of  the  Rev.  Andrew  Wood.  His  mother  was  a  Bister  of  the  celebrated 
John  Guthrie  of  Guthrie,  Bishop  of  Moray  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I., 
who  had  the  courage  to  defy  tlio  excommunication  issued  against  him 
l»y  the  Presbyterian   General  Assembly  held  at  Glasgow   in  1038,  foi 

•  History  of  Brechin,  by  David  D.  Black,  j>.  97,  W 


34  HISTORY  OF  THE 

having  "  in  the  year  1633  preached  in  a  surplice  before  His  Majesty 
King  Charles  I.  in  the  High  Church  of  Edinburgh,  to  the  great  scan- 
dal of  the  zealous  people  there."  Bishop  Wood's  first  change  was  the 
parish  of  Spott,  from  which  he  was  removed  to  Dunbar,  both  in  the 
county  of  Haddington,  and  while  incumbent  of  the  latter  he  was  conse- 
crated Bishop  of  the  Isles  in  1G78,  from  which  he  was  translated  to  the 
See  of  Caithness  in  1680.     In  this  See  he  was  at  the  Revolution. 

The   See  of  Orkney  was  filled  by  the  Right  Rev.  Andrew  Bruce, 
whose  father  held  the  honourable  office  of  Commissary  of  St  Andrews, 
and  who  had  previously  been  Archdeacon  of  that  metropolitan  diocese. 
He  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Dunkeld  in  1679,  and  he  sat  in  this  See 
till  the  year  1681.     Bishop  Keith  makes  the  following  observations  re- 
specting this  prelate,  which  are  particularly  worthy  of  notice,  because 
they  disclose  the  principles  by  which  the  Scottish  Bishops  were  guided 
at  this  memorable  era.     "  He  was  deprived  by  the  Court  for  showing 
his  dislike  to  the  design  of  repealing  the  laws  against  Popery  ;  yet  the 
King  [James  II.]  perceiving  the  disagreeableness  of  such  proceedings, 
did  recommend  him  to  the  See  of  Orkney  upon  the  death  of  the  pre- 
ceding Bishop.*     The  King's  conge  d'elire  and  recommendation  both 
bear  date  the  4th  of  May  1688  ;  but  the  Revolution  coming  quickly  to 
take  place,  he  was  deprived  with  the  rest  of  his  order."! 

We  now  come  to  the  Archiepiscopal  See  of  Glasgow,  which  was  filled 
by  the  Most  Rev.  John  Paterson,  formerly  Dean  of  Edinburgh,  and 
successively  Bishop  of  Galloway  and  of  Edinburgh.  He  was  consecrated 
to  the  former  See  in  May  1675,  at  Edinburgh,  along  with  Archbishop 
Ross,  by  Archbishop  Leighton  of  Glasgow,  Bishop  Young  of  Edinburgh, 
and  another  Bishop  whose  name  is  not  given.  He  succeeded  Arch- 
bishop Cairncross,  who,  in  1686,  having  "  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the 
Lord  Chancellor,  the  Earl  of  Perth  (and  deservedly,  too,  if  all  be  true 


*  The  Right  Rev.  Murdoch  Mackenzie,  descended  from  the  Mackenzies  of  Gair- 
loch,  and  a  cadet  of  the  Noble  Family  of  Seaforth.  This  venerable  prelate  died  in 
about  the  hundredth  year  of  his  age,  yet  "  in  the  perfect  use  of  all  his  faculties  until 
the  very  last,"  in  the  month  of  February  1688.  He  was  spared  the  grief  of  seeing 
the  Church  of  which  he  was  once  a  governor  overthrown  by  political  intrigue  and 
noisy  fanaticism. 

|  Keith's  Catalogue. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  35 

which  Dr  James  Canaries,  minister  at  Selkirk,  relates*),  the  King  sent 
a  letter  to  the  Privy  Council,  removing  him  from  the  Archbishopric  of 
Glasgow,  of  the  date  January  13,  1687 — a  very  irregular  step  surely. 
The  King  should  have  taken  a  more  canonical  course."  The  Bishop 
might  have  added  that  this  was  one  of  the  many  proceedings  of  James 
II.  which  alienated  the  English  nation  from  him,  and  brought  about 
the  Revolution.  Archbishop  Paterson  was  translated  to  the  See  of 
Glasgow  in  January  1687. 

Dr  John  Gordon,  called  by  the  King  in  the  charter  of  nomination 
under  the  Great  Seal,  dated  February  4,  and  sealed  September  4,  1688, 
"  Doctorem  Theologia3  Joannem  Gordon,  nostrum  capellanum  apud 
New  York,  in  America,"  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Galloway  at  Glas- 
gow. He  had  done  little  more  than  taken  possession  of  the  See  when 
the  Revolution  happened,  and  he  followed  King  James  first  into  Ireland, 
during  the  attempt  to  recover  that  kingdom,  and  then  into  France.  He 
resided  at  St  Germains,  with  the  unfortunate  sovereign's  little  court, 
and  performed  divine  service  to  such  of  the  exiles  as  were  members 
of  the  Church,  though  one  account  alleges  that  he  became  a  Roman 
Catholic.  Bishop  Gordon  does  not  appear  to  have  returned  to  Scot- 
land. 

The  See  of  Argyle  was  vacant  in  consequence  of  the  death  of  Bishop 
Hector  Maclean,  in  1687.  A  conge  oVelire  was  issued  in  favour  of  Dr 
Alexander  Monro,  Principal  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  directed 
to  the  Dean  and  Chapter  of  the  Diocese,  dated  24th  October  1688.  It 
does  not  appear  that  this  learned  clergyman,  who  was  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  men  of  his  timo,  was  consecrated.  He  was  deprived  of 
his  office  in  the  University  for  not  conforming  to  King  William's  go- 
vernment, and  was  succeeded  by  the  famous  Dr  William  Carstairs,  a 
great  leader  of  the  Presbyterian  party.  Dr  Monro  is  more  particularly 
noticed  in  the  sequel. 


This  parenthetical  statement  of  Bishop  Keith  must  be  received  with  great  cau- 
tion. Archbishop  (  airncross  accepted  the  Bishopric  of  Raphoe  in  Ireland  from 
King  William,  which  gave  great  offence  to  the  Scottish  Bishops  and  clergy.     Keith 

Bays,  that  "  he  lived  privately  until  the  Revolution  in  1688j  after  which  period  lie  \\a> 

taken  notice  of  by  the  new  powers,  who,  flnfljng  him  not  altogether  averse  to  make 

Compliance   with  them,  he  was   made  Hishop  of  Baphoc  the  Iflth  Ma\    1698,  and  in 

thai  Bee  he  continued  till  his  death,  anno  1701." 


3(3  HISTORY  OF  THE 

The  remote  See  of  the  Isles  was  filled  at  the  period  of  the  Revolution 
by  the  Right  Rev.  Archibald  Graham,  of  the  family  of  Graham  of  Kil- 
bride, who  had  been  minister  at  Rothsay  in  Bute.  He  was  promoted  to 
the  See  in  1680.  This  prelate  had  sufficient  interest  with  King  William's 
Government,  or  probably  his  claim  was  irresistible,  to  obtain  an  act  of 
Parliament  in  1695,  ordaining  that  "military  assistance  shall  be  given 
to  the  said  Archibald,  late  Bishop  of  the  Isles,  and  John  Graham  of 
Dougalston,  or  their  factors,"  to  recover  certain  rents  indebted  to  him 
by  the  tenants.* 

It  will  thus  be  seen  from  the  preceding  narrative  that  the  Scottish 
Bishops  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution  were  men  of  the  highest  respec- 
tability, and  some  of  them  connected  with  ancient  and  distinguished 
families.  Among  the  inferior  clergy  were  many  persons  of  great  talent 
and  erudition,  some  of  whom  subsequently  became  prominent  in  the 
defence  of  the  Church,  when  it  was  left  to  the  voluntary  support  of  its 
members,  and  encountered  the  ordeal  of  persecution.  Those  clergy 
were  the  parochial  ministers,  commonly  termed  curates  by  the  Presby- 
terians, by  way  of  reproach,  though  there  is  neither  sarcasm  nor  wit  ap- 
parent in  such  an  application  of  the  word.  In  every  field  harangue  de  • 
livered  by  the  Covenanting  preachers,  the  Bishops  and  clergy  were 
often  assailed  in  the  most  scurrilous  language,  their  conduct  studiously 
misrepresented,  and  unscrupulously  accused  of  every  species  of  crime. 
To  such  an  extent  was  the  ignorant  credulity  and  superstition  of  the 
peasantry  influenced  by  the  Covenanting  preachers  in  the  rural  and 
remote  districts,  that  the  Bishops  were  actually  believed  to  be  cloven- 
footed,  and  had  no  shadows,  and  many  of  the  curates,  if  we  are  to  credit 
Kirkton  and  others  of  his  enthusiastic  persuasion,  were  little  better 
than  wizards — an  accusation,  however,  which  the  clergy  occasionally 
retorted  on  their  maligners.  It  is  appropriately  stated  that  "at  this 
period  the  Royalists  were  believed  by  the  adverse  party  to  be  as  much 
devoted  to  Satan  as  to  King  Charles  II.  ;  that  the  military  officers  who 
were  employed  to  pursue  the  Whigs  (Covenanters)  into  their  lurking 
places  wore  coats  of  proof,  and  bestrode  horses  that  could  clamber 
among  rocks  like  foxes  ;  and  that  the  justices  of  peace  commissioned  to 
try  the  fugitives  were  seen  familiarly  conversing  with  the  foul  fiend."! 

*  Acta  Pari.  Scot.  vol.  ix.  p.  448. 

|  Prefatory  Notice  to  Law's  Memorialls,  p.  lxxix. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  37 

These  absurdities  were  religiously  propagated  by  the  field  preachers,  and 
readily  credited  as  undoubted  facts. 

Nevertheless,  after  the  accession  of  James  II.  indications  of  repose 
were  apparent  even  in  the  Western  counties,  and  if  the  rude  peasantry 
had  not  been  kept  in  an  incessant  state  of  religious  excitement  by  noisy 
enthusiasts,  who  continually  appealed  to  their  passions  by  perverted  ap- 
plications of  passages  and  events  in  the  Old  Testament,  the  Church 
would  not  have  been  the  object  of  their  dislike.  "  The  system  pursued 
at  tho  time,"  says  one  of  the  distinguished  ornaments  of  the  Church, 
"  in  the  disaffected  districts  of  Scotland,  for  putting  down  the  rebel- 
lious fanatics  who  broke  the  peace  and  set  the  Government  at  defiance, 
has  afforded  much  occasion  for  sincere  regret,  as  well  as  for  party  in- 
vectivo  and  theological  recrimination  ;  and  it  is  readily  admitted  that 
there  could  be  little  Christian  charity,  and  still  less  political  wisdom,  in 
the  kingdom,  when  it  became  necessary,  or  was  thought  expedient,  to 
dragoon  fanatical  peasants  into  sound  opinion  or  ecclesiastical  subor- 
dination. But  this  admission,  it  is  clear,  amounts  to  nothing  more  than 
the  acknowledgment  that  men  do  not  act  upon  principles  which  they  re- 
fuse to  receive,  while,  to  form  a  correct  estimate  of  the  line  of  policy  ac- 
tually adopted,  it  would  be  necessary  to  weigh  well  the  probable  effects  of 
any  other  that  might  have  been  recommended  in  its  place.  The  men  who 
fought  at  the  Pentland  Hills  and  Bothwell  Bridge  were  not  only  open 
rebels,  banded  against  the  civil  government  of  the  country,  and  against 
a  Church  not  only  established  by  law,  but  preferred  by  a  large  majority 
of  the  kingdom  ;  they  were,  moreover,  in  arms  against  religious  tolera- 
tion and  liberty  of  conscience,  determined  not  to  accept  these  privileges 
in  their  own  m-e,  and  far  less  to  grant  them  to  others." 


38  HISTORY  OF  THE 


CHAPTER  II. 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  STATE  OF  SCOTLAND  AND  OF  THE  CHURCH  AT  THE 

REVOLUTION. 

The  Revolution  of  1688  had  been  planned  by  the  Prince  of  Orange  a 
considerable  time  previous  to  its  actual  occurrence.  A  powerful  party 
considered  him  as  the  protector  of  their  liberties,  many  of  the  highest 
persons  in  the  kingdom  corresponded  with  him,  and  he  only  waited  for 
a  favourable  opportunity  to  invade  England.  He  sent  Dykvelt  as  envoy 
to  look  after  his  interests,  and  to  assure  the  people,  that  though  he  re- 
fused to  be  a  party  to  the  Indulgence  granted  by  the  King  his  father- 
in-law,  he  was  himself  quite  willing  to  be  the  author  of  one  which  would 
satisfy  all  denominations  except  the  Roman  Catholics.  All  this  was 
well  known  in  England  except  to  the  unfortunate  monarch  whom  it 
most  concerned ;  but  it  was  different  in  Scotland,  where  the  people 
heard  of  the  landing  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  his  assumption  of  the  go- 
vernment, and  the  flight  of  the  King,  with  surprise  and  not  a  little  con- 
sternation. 

The  Scottish  Bishops  appear  to  have  been  aware  of  the  meditated  in- 
vasion of  the  Prince  of  Orange  only  in  October  1688,  and  as  a  number 
of  them  were  in  Edinburgh  at  that  time  they  drew  up  a  loyal  address, 
which  they  transmitted  to  the  King.  This  we  learn  from  a  letter  of 
Dr  Rose,  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  to  the  Hon.  and  Right  Rev.  Archibald 
Campbell,  written  on  the  22d  of  October  1713,  the  "original  holo- 
graph" of  which  Bishop  Keith  says  he  possessed.  An  answer  was  re- 
turned, dated  Whitehall,  15th  November,  after  the  Prince  of  Orange 
had  been  ten  days  in  England.  When  the  Scottish  Bishops  knew  that 
the  Prince  had  landed,  they  resolved  to  send  two  of  their  number  to 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  39 

London,  with  a  renewal  of  their  allegiance  to  James,  and  to  wait  on  the 
English  Bishops  "  for  advice  and  assistance,"  says  Bishop  Rose,  "in 
case  that  any  unlucky  thing  might  possibly  happen  to  occur  with  re- 
spect to  the  Church."  This  was  communicated  to  the  Privy  Council, 
and  the  Earl  of  Perth,  Lord  Chancellor,  officially  announced  that  it 
met  with  the  approbation  of  their  Lordships.  At  the  next  meeting  of 
the  Bishops,  Dr  Rose  of  Edinburgh  and  Dr  Bruce  of  Orkney  were  de- 
legated to  proceed  to  London.  It  was  thought  that  these  two  Bishops 
would  be  more  acceptable  to  their  Anglican  brethren,  as  they  were  un- 
connected with  the  sanction  given  by  the  Bishops  of  the  Scottish  Church 
to  the  toleration  granted  by  the  King  to  the  Roman  Catholics,  which 
had  given  great  offence  at  the  time  in  England  generally,  whereas  Bishop 
Bruce  had  so  strongly  opposed  it  as  to  draw  upon  himself  the  severe  dis- 
pleasure of  James,  "  and  I,"  says  Dr  Rose,  "not  concerned,  as  not 
being  a  bishop  at  that  time." 

In  conformity  to  this  resolution,  sanctioned  and  approved  by  the 
Privy  Council,  a  commission  was  signed  by  the  Archbishops  and  Bi- 
shops on  the  3d  of  December  1688,  authorising  the  Bishops  of  Edin- 
burgh and  Orkney  to  proceed  to  London.  Some  business  called  the 
latter  prelate  to  the  country,  but  he  promised  to  return  in  a  few  days, 
that  he  and  Bishop  Rose  might  travel  together.  It  happened,  however, 
that  when  the  Bishop  of  Orkney  was  to  join  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  in 
that  city  he  was  suddenly  taken  ill,  and  he  was  therefore  under  the  ne- 
cessity of  intimating  to  Dr  Roso  that  the  state  of  his  health  would  not 
permit  him  to  join  him,  and  urged  him  to  set  out  by  himself,  promising 
to  join  him  as  soon  as  he  was  able. 

The  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  proceeded  to  London,  and  a  journey  to  the 
British  metropolis  from  Edinburgh  in  those  days  was  a  very  different 
affair  from  what  it  is  at  the  present  time.  His  Lordship  was  some  days 
on  the  road  before  he  came  to  Northallerton,  and  there  he  first  heard 
<it  the  important  political  movements,  the  assumption  of  the  government 
by  the  Prince  of  Orange  amid  the  acclamations  of  the  great  majority 
of  the  English  nation,  and  the  flight  of  James  from  Ixorhcster.  This 
induced  Bishop  Rose  to  hesitate  whether  lie  ought  to  go  forward  or  re- 
turn :  "  But,"  he  says,  "considering  the  various  and  contradictory  ac- 
counts I  had  got  all  along  the  road,  and  that,  in  rase  of   the  King's  re 

tirenu  at,  matters  would  be  so  much  more  dark  and  perplexed,  I  resolv- 


40  HISTORY  OF  THE 

ed  to  go  on,  that  I  might  be  able  to  give  just  accounts  of  things  to  my 
brethren  here  [in  Scotland]  from  time  to  time,  and  have  the  advice  of 
the  English  Bishops,  wliom  I  never  doubted  to  find  unalterably  firm  to 
their  master's  interest." 

In  this  expectation  Bishop  Rose  was  disappointed.  Seven,  includ- 
ing the  Primate — the  illustrious  and  celebrated  Seven  Bishops — re- 
mained "  unalterably  firm"  to  the  interests  of  the  unfortunate  and  in- 
fatuated sovereign,  but  the  Church  of  England  conformed  to  the  Re- 
volution, acknowledged  William  and  Mary  as  the  lawful  sovereigns,  and 
the  refractory  Bishops  were  deprived.  Bishop  Rose  arrived  in  Lon- 
don, and  found  a  very  different  order  of  government  from  what  he  ex- 
pected. On  the  day  after  his  arrival  his  Lordship  waited  on  Arch- 
bishop Sancroft,  with  whom,  he  says,  he  had  been  personally  acquainted 
a  few  years  before.  He  presented  his  commission  to  the  Primate,  and 
explained  the  circumstances  which  had  prevented  the  Bishop  of  Orkney 
from  accompanying  him.  The  Archbishop,  having  read  the  document, 
told  his  Lordship,  in  the  most  desponding  manner,  that  "matters  were 
very  dark,  and  the  cloud  so  thick  or  gross  that  they  could  not  see 
through  it ;  and  that  they  [the  English  Bishops]  knew  not  well  what  to 
do  for  themselves,  far  less  what  advice  to  give  to  others."  His  Grace 
farther  informed  Bishop  Rose  that  there  was  to  be  a  meeting  of  the  Bi- 
shops with  him  that  very  day,  and  the  interview  terminated  by  his 
Grace  desiring  his  Lordship  to  see  him  during  the  following  week. 

Bishop  Rose  next  waited  on  the  celebrated  Dr  Stillingfleet,  Bishop 
of  St  Asaph,  with  whom  he  was  also  personally  acquainted.  His  Lord- 
ship does  not  narrate  the  conversation,  but  from  what  he  states  the 
nature  of  it  may  be  easily  inferred.  "  I  could  not,"  says  his  Lordship, 
"  but  see  through  his  inclinations,  wherefore  I  resolved  to  visit  him  no 
more,  nor  to  address  myself  to  any  others  of  that  order  [or  party],  till 
I  should  have  occasion  to  learn  something  about  them."  At  the  time 
appointed  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  again  waited  on  the  Primate  at  Lam- 
beth Palace,  and  told  his  Grace  what  had  passed  between  him  and  the 
Bishop  of  St  Asaph.  "  The  Archbishop, "says his  Lordship,  "smiling,  told 
me  that  St  Asaph  was  a  good  man,  but  an  angry  man  ;  and  withal  told 
me  that  matters  still  continued  very  dark,  and  that  it  behoved  me  to 
wait  the  issue  of  their  convention,  which  he  expected  was  only  that  which 
would  give  light  to  the  scene  ;  and  withal  desired  me  to  come  to  him 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  41 

from  time  to  time,  and  if  any  thing  occurred  he  would  signify  it  unto 


me," 


At  this  critical  season,  "  wearisome  to  me,"  says  Bishop  Rose,  "  he- 
cause  acquainted  with  few,  save  those  of  our  own  countrymen,  and  of 
those  I  knew  not  whom  to  trust,"  his  Lordship  waited  on  Dr  Compton, 
Bishop  of  London,   and  requested  that  Prelate  to  use  his  influence 
with  the  Prince  of  Orange  to  protect  the  Episcopal  clergy  in  Scotland. 
The  Bishop  of  London  refused  to  interfere,  as  did  also  Dr  Burnet,  after- 
wards Bishop  of  Salisbury,  who,  though  at  one  time  an  incumbent  of 
the  Church  in  his  native  country,  coolly  told  Bishop  Rose  that  he  "  did 
not  meddle   in  Scots  affairs."     The  Bishop  of  London,  although  he 
either  would  not  or  could  not  render  the  Bishop  of  EdinburglTany  as- 
sistance, advised  his  Lordship  to  wait  upon  the  Prince,  and  present  his 
Royal  Highness  with  an  address  respecting  the  treatment  of  the  clergy 
in   Scotland.     This  suggestion  was  eagerly  recommended  by  several 
Scottish  peers.    "  I  asked,"  says  the  Bishop,  "  whether  I  or  my  address 
would  readily  meet  with  acceptance  or  success,  if  it  did  not  compliment 
the  Prince  upon  his  descent  to  deliver  us  from  Popery  and  slavery  ?  They 
said  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary.     I  told  them  that  I  neither  was  in- 
structed by  my  constituents  to  do  so,  neither  had  I  myself  clearness  to 
do  it,  and  that  in  these  terms  I  neither  could  nor  would  visit  or  ad- 
dress his  Highness." 

The  Bishop  during  his  stay  in  London  had 'repeated  interviews  with 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  Dr  Turner,  Bishop  of  Ely,  who  re- 
cerffed  him  kindly,  and  as  they  were  about  to  be  sufferers  in  the  same 
cause  with  himself  and  his  Scottish  brethren,  the  friendship  would  be 
peculiarly  intimate.  At  length  the  vote  of  abdication  in  reference  to 
James  II.  was  passed,  and  on  that  day  Bishop  Rose,  who  saw  at  once 
tlic  probable  fate  of  the  Scottish  Church  as  tho  national  establishment, 
rent  to  Lambeth.  His  Lordship  tells  Bishop  Campbell  that, .as  his  in- 
I  rview  with  tho  Primate  was  strictly  private,  ho  does  not  feel  himself 
at  liberty  to  narrate  the  conversation.  He  intimated  to  his  Grace  that 
he  wbb  preparing  to  return  to  Scotland,  ana  that  he  would  wait  upon 
him  once  more  before  he  left  London. 

The  Prince  of  Orange  had  already  accepted  the  Srown  conjunctly 
with  his  consort,  and  proclamations  were  issued  enjoining  obedience  to 
King  William  and  Qneen  Mary,  releasing  the  people  fram  their  alle- 


42  HISTORY  OF  THE 

giance  to  King  James,  and  threatening  all  who-  resisted  the  authority 
of  the  new  sovereigns.     But  these  are  matters  on  which  we  shall  not 
dwell  at  present.     While  making  his  farewell  visits  to  his  countrymen 
and  friends  in  London,  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  was  informed  that 
some  Scottish  noblemen  and  gentlemen  who  had  set  out  to  their  own 
country  had  been  stopped  at  the  first  stage,  and  that  no  one  could  pro- 
cure a  pass  until  he  waited  on  the  King.     His  Lordship  immediately 
repaired  to  the  Archbishop  at  Lambeth  Palace,  and  his  Grace  agreed 
that  it  would  be  proper  to  wait  on  the  King,  or  the  Prince,  as  he  stu- 
diously calls  William  III.      He  applied  to  the  Bishop  of  London  to 
introduce  him.     Dr  Compton  asked  his  Lordship  if  he  had  any  thing 
to  say  to  the  King.    "  I  replied,"  says  the  Bishop,  "  that  I  had  nothing 
to  say,  save  that  I  was  going  to  Scotland,  being  a  member  of  the  Con- 
vention ;  for   I  understood  that  without  waiting  on  the  Prince   (that 
being  the  most  common  Scots  style),  I  could  not  have  a  pass,  and  that 
without  that  I  must  needs  be  stopped  upon  the  road,  as  several  of  my 
countrymen  had  been.     His  Lordship  asked  me  again,  saying,  *  Seeing 
your  clergy  have  been  so  routed  and  barbarously  treated  by  the  Pres- 
byterians, will  you  not  speak  to  the  King  to  put  a  stop  to  that,  and  in 
favour  of  your  own  clergy  V    My  reply  was,  that  the  Prince  had  been 
often  applied  to  in  that  matter  by  several  of  our  nobility,  and  addressed 
also  by  the  sufferers  themselves,  and  yet  all  to  no  purpose  ;  wherefore, 
I  could  have  no  hopes  that  my  intercessions  would  be  of  any  avail ;  but 
that  if  his  Lordship  thought  otherwise,  I  would  not  decline  to  make 
them.    His  Lordship  asked  me  farther,  whether  any  of  our  countrymen 
would  go  along  with  me,  and  he  spoke  particularly  of  Sir  George  Mac- 
kenzie.   I  replied,  that  I  doubted  nothing  of  that ;  whereupon  his  Lord- 
ship bid  me  find  him  out,  and  that  both  he  and  I  should  be  at  Court 
that  day  against  three  in  the  afternoon,  and  he  should  surely  be  there 
to  introduce  us." 

The  Bishop  easily  found  Sir  George  Mackenzie,  who  liked  the  pro- 
posed audience  with  the  King,  but  suggested  to  his  Lordship  the  ex- 
pediency of  having  some  of  the  Scottish  nobility  present  on  the  occa- 
sion. To  this  the  Bishop  replied,  that  he  much  doubted  whether  they 
would  be  admitted  if  they  came  in  a  body,  and  that  they  would  be 
greatly  offended  if  they  were  denied  access,  when  they  came  upon  his 
and  Sir  George's  invitation  merely.     But  his  Lordship  strenuously  re- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  43 

commended  to  meet  the  Bishop  of  London  punctually  at  the  time  ap- 
pointed, and  take  that  prelate's  advice  on  these  and  other  matters,  to 
which  Sir  George  readily  agreed. 

At  the  time  specified  the  Bishop  of  London  met  the  Bishop  of  Edin- 
burgh and  Sir  George  Mackenzie  at  Whitehall.  The  latter  mentioned 
to  the  Bishop  of  London  his  suggestion  of  having  some  of  the  Scottish 
Episcopal  noblemen  and  gentlemen  present,  and  his  Lordship  heartily 
conceded  with  the  proposal,  He  said  that  he  would  go  in  to  the  King, 
and  inquire  if  his  Majesty  would  appoint  a  time  for  the  Scottish  Epis- 
copal noblemen  and  gentlemen  to  wait  upon  him,  in  favour  of  their  per- 
secuted clergy  in  Scotland.  Leaving  the  Bishop  and  Sir  George  Mac- 
kenzie in  a  room  near  the  apartment  in  which  the  King  was,  his  Lord- 
ship was  absent  a  full  half  hour,  when  he  returned,  and  informed  them 
that  the  King  would  not  agree  to  the  proposal,  lest  it  might  offend  the 
Presbyterians,  that  at  the  same  time  he  would  not  allow  the  latter  to  ap- 
proach him  in  a  body,  because  it  would  give  offence  to  the  other  party, 
and  that  he  would  not  allow  more  than  two  of  either  party  at  a  time 
to  speak  to  him  of  Scottish  ecclesiastical  affairs. 

The  Bishop  of  London  now  addressed  himself  in  an  almost  official 
manner  to  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh. — "  My  Lord,"  he  said,  "  you  see 
that  the  King,  having  thrown  himself  upon  the  water,  must  keep  him- 
self a-swimming  with  one  hand.  The  Presbyterians  have  joined  him 
closely,  and  offer  to  support  him  ;  and  therefore  he  cannot  cast  them  off 
unless  he  could  sec  how  otherways  ho  can  be  served.  And  the  King 
bids  me  tell  you  that  he  now  knows  the  state  of  Scotland  much  better 
than  he  did  when  he  was  in  Holland  ;  for  while  there  he  was  made  to 
believe  that  Scotland,  generally  all  over,  was  Presbyterian,  but  now  he 

i  that  the  great  body  of  the  nobility  and  gentry  are  for  Fpiscopaci/. 
And  it  is  the  trading  and  inferior  sort  that  are  for  Preshytcry.  Where- 
fore he  bids  me  tell  you,  that  if  you  will  undertake  to  servo  him  to  the 
purpose  that  he  is  served  here  in  England  he  will  take  you  1>\  the  hand, 

rt  the  Church  and  order,  and  throw  off  the  Presbyterians." "  Mv 

Lord,"  replied  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  M  1  cannot  bat  humbly  thank 
the  Prince  for  this  franknesi  and  offer ;  but  withal  I  must  tell  your 
Lordship,  that  when  1  came  from  Scotland,  neither  mj  brethren  nor  I 
apprehended  any  such  revolution  aa  I  have  now  seen  in  England:  and 
therefore  1  neither  iraa  nor  could  be  instructed  bj  them  prhal  answer  to 


44  HISTORY  OF  THE 

make  to  the  Prince's  offer.  And,  therefore,  what  I  say  is  not  in  their 
name,  but  only  my  own  private  opinion,  which  is,  that  I  truly  think 
they  will  not  serve  the  Prince  so  as  he  is  served  in  England :  that  is, 
as  I  take  it,  to  make  him  their  king,  or  give  their  suffrage  for  his  being 
king.  And  though  as  to  this  matter  I  can  say  nothing  in  their  name, 
and  as  from  them,  yet  for  myself  I  must  say,  that  rather  than  do  so  I 
will  abandon  all  the  interest  that  either  I  have,  or  may  expect  to  have, 
in  Britain."  The  Bishop  of  London  commended  the  candour  of  this 
reply,  and  said  that  he  believed  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  spoke  the 
sentiments  of  all  the  Scottish  Prelates.  "  All  this  time,"  said  his  Lord- 
ship to  Bishop  Rose,  "  you  have  been  here,  neither  have  you  waited  on 
the  King,  nor  have  any  of  your  brethren,  the  Scottish  Bishops,  made 
any  address  to  him  ;  so  the  King  must  be  excused  for  standing  by  the 
Presbyterians." 

This  conversation  had  scarcely  terminated  when  the  Prince  of 
Orange  passed  through  the  apartment  in  which  were  the  two  Bishops 
and  Sir  George  Mackenzie.  The  latter  took  leave  of  his  Majesty,  who 
immediately  left  the  room  without  noticing  the  Bishops.  The  Bishop 
of  Edinburgh  was  not  a  little  chagrined  that  this  opportunity  of  taking 
leave  had  been  lost,  but  the  Bishop  promised  to  present  him  on  the 
forenoon  of  the  following  day.  Considering  what  depended  on  this  in- 
terview and  the  results,  it  is  extremely  interesting  ;  and  it  either  does 
not  appear  that  William  had  been  informed  of  what  had  passed  between 
the  two  Bishops  on  the  previous  day,  or,  as  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh 
also  conjectures,  the  "  Prince  purposed  to  try  what  might  be  made  of 
him  by  a  personal  appeal."  When  his  Lordship  was  announced,  Wil- 
liam came  a  few  steps  forward  from  his  company,  and  said — "  My  Lord, 
are  you  going  for  Scotland?" — "  Yes,  Sir,"  replied  the. Bishop,  "  if 
you  have  any  commands  for  me." — "  I  hope,"  said  the  King,  "  you 
will  be  kind  to  me,  and  follow  the  example  of  England." — "  Sir,"  re- 
plied his  Lordship,  "  I  will  serve  you  so  far  as  law,  reason,  or  conscience, 
shall  allow  me."  William  instantly  turned  from  the  Bishop  in  silence, 
and  mingled  with  his  friends,  and  the  Bishop  immediately  retired. 

Such  was  the  memorable  interview  of  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  with 
King  William  III.,  at  which  the  fate  of  Scottish  Episcopacy  as  the 
national  establishment  was  sealed.  It  is  given  almost  in  the  Bishop's 
own  language,  and  is  therefore  entitled  to  the  utmost  confidence.     One 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  45 

fact  is  clearly  deduced  from  it — that  if  the  Scottish  Prelates  and 
clergy  had  followed  the  example  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  recog- 
nized William  as  the  sovereign,  the  Episcopal  Church  would  have  been 
at  this  moment  established  in  Scotland.  The  Bishop  of  London  expli- 
citly stated  this  to  Bishop  Rose,  when  he  told  his  Lordship  that  the 
King  knew  the  state  of  Scotland  much  better  than  when  he  was  in  Hol- 
land— that  instead  of  the  Scotch  being  nearly  unanimous  for  Presby- 
terianism,  there  was  a  numerous,  a  powerful,  and  a  most  influential 
party  who  were  its  determined  opponents — that  he  had  discovered  "  the 
nobility  and  gentry  were  for  Episcopacy,"  and  only  the  "  trading  and 
inferior  sort  were  for  Presbytery."  Bishop  Rose  farther  says,  respect- 
ing his  conversation  with  Bishop  Compton — "  Whether  what  the  Bishop 
of  London  delivered  as  from  the  Prince  was  so  or  not  I  cannot  cer- 
tainly say,  but  I  think  his  Lordship's  word  was  good  enough  for  that ; 
or  whether  the  Prince  would  have  stood  by  his  promise  of  casting  off 
the  Presbyterians,  and  protecting  us,  in  case  we  had  come  into  his  in- 
terest, I  will  not  determine,  though  this  seems  the  most  probable  unto 
me,  and  that  for  these  reasons  :  — He  had  the  Presbyterians  now  on  his 
side  both  from  inclination  and  interest,  many  of  them  having  come 
over  with  him,  and  the  rest  of  them  having  appeared  so  warmly  that 
with  no  good  grace  imaginable  could  they  return  to  King  James'  in- 
terest ; — next,  by  gaining,  as  he  might  presume  to  gain,  the  Episcopal 
nobility  and  gentry,  which  he  saw  was  a  great  party,  and,  consequently, 
that  King  James  would  be  deprived  of  his  principal  support.  I  am  the 
more  confirmed  in  this,  that  after  my  downcoming  here  [Edinburgh], 
my  Lord  St  Andrews  [the  Primate]  and  I  taking  occasion  to  wait  upon 
the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  his  Grace  told  us  a  day  or  two  before  the  sit- 
ting down  of  the  Convention,  that  ho  had  it  in  special  charge  from 
King  Wifl lam  that  nothing  should  be  done  to  the  prejudice  of  Episcopacy 
in  Scotland,  in  case  the  Bishops  could  by  any  means  be  brought  to  be- 
friend his  interest,  and  he  prayed  us  most  pathetically,  for  our  own  takes, 
to  follow  the  example  of  the  Church  of  England,  To  which  my  Lord  St 
Andrews  replied,  '  That  both  by  natural  allegiance,  the  laws,  and  the 
most  solemn  oaths,  we  \v<to  engaged  in  the  King's  [James  II.]  interest ; 
and  that  we  wen  l.v  £od'a  grace  to  stand  by  it,  ID  the  face  of  all  dan- 
gers, and  to  the  greatest  losses.''  The  Archbishop  farther  rolunteered 
an  advice  to  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  respecting  what  he  eonBictaed  to 


46  HISTORY  OF  THE 

his  Grace's  duty  at  this  crisis  ;  but  the  Duke  nevertheless  followed  his 
own  inclinations,  and  was  a  zealous  promoter  of  the  Revolution. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  reasons  which  induced  King  William 
after  his  arrival  in  England  to  alter  his  opinions  respecting  the  ecclesi- 
astical state  of  Scotland,  as  intimated  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  it  is 
now  admitted  that  the  establishment  of  Presbyterianism  was  arranged 
in  Holland,  and  of  course  confirmed  in  London  after  the  Scottish  Bi- 
shops had  declared  their  resolution  to  remain  in  the  interests  of  King 
James.  It  is  also  stated  that  Bishop  Burnet  had  then  no  inconsider- 
able share  in  the  matter  when  in  Holland,  and  if  this  charge  is  true  it 
is  a  disgraceful  stain  on  his  character,  when  we  consider  that  he  had  at 
one  time  been  a  parochial  incumbent  in  the  Scottish  Church.  The  con- 
duct of  the  Scottish  Bishops  is  the  more  remarkable,  and  must  have  re- 
sulted from  the  most  upright  principle,  when  it  is  recollected  that  the 
indulgence  or  toleration  granted  by  King  James  in  1687,  in  virtue  of  the 
dispensing  power  assumed  by  him,  had  not  only  secured  full  liberty  to 
all  classes  of  Presbyterians,  but  even  encouraged  dissent  from  the  Epis- 
copal Church,  which  he  evidently  intended  to  weaken,  on  account  of  the 
powerful  barrier  it  presented  against  the  Roman  Catholics.  This  in- 
dulgence had  been  received  with  the  utmost  gratitude  by  the  Presby- 
terians. Loyal  addresses  were  transmitted  to  the  King  from  various 
quarters,  and  more  particularly  from  the  Presbyterians  of  Edinburgh, 
thanking  his  Majesty  for  this  boon,  declaring  that  they  would  stand  by 
his  sacred  person  on  all  occasions,  and  praying  the  continuance  of  his 
princely  goodness  and  care  ;  and  yet  those  very  persons  were  amongst 
the  first  to  offer  their  services  to  the  Prince  of  Orange,  complaining  of 
the  "hellish  attempts  of  Romish  incendiaries,  and  of  the  just  grievances 
to  all  men  relating  to  conscience,  liberty,  and  property."  King  James 
knew,  as  every  Romanist  knows,  that  Popery  had  nothing  to  fear  from 
Presbyterianism,  about  which  the  Papists  even  at  the  present  day  give 
themselves  little  concern. 

As  to  the  conduct  of  the  Scottish  Bishops,  who  have  been  often  repre- 
sented as  men  of  narrow  minds  and  bigoted  principles,  it  resulted  from 
what  they  considered  to  be  their  solemn  religious  duty.  It  is  easy  to  sit  in 
judgment  on  them  at  this  distance  of  time,  and  reasoning  from  our  own 
consciousness  to  assail  them  for  their  want  of  prudence,  their  now  ob- 
solete and  exploded  notions,  and  their  obstinacy  in  clinging  to  the  for- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  47 

tunes  of  an  illustrious  and  unfortunate  Royal  House.  But  it  must  be  re- 
collected that  the  times  were  widely  different  from  our  own  ;  it  was  a  pe- 
riod of  strong  political  excitement ;  and  it  was  never  contemplated  even 
by  many  of  those  who  were  concerned  in  the  Revolution,  that  the  House 
of  Stuart  was  to  be  finally  excluded.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that 
if  James  II.  had  acceded  to  the  proposition  of  King  William,  and  sent 
his  infant  son  to  be  educated  in  England,  the  succession  would  have 
been  secured  to  that  prince.  And  if  we  take  into  account  that  Scot- 
land was  at  that  time  an  independent  kingdom,  that  it  had  its  own  le- 
gislature, and  was  unconnected  with  England  except  by  the  union  of 
the  crowns,  we  may  form  some  kind  of  estimate  of  the  principles  by 
which  the  Scottish  Bishops  and  Clergy  were  guided  in  their  solemn  de- 
termination not  to  acknowledge  King  William  as  their  sovereign,  be- 
lieving, as  they  conscientiously  did,  that  nothing  could  absolve  them  from 
their  oath  of  allegiance  to  King  James. 

And  what  an  extraordinary  train  of  reflections  must  occur,  if  we  sup 
pose  for  a  moment  that  the  Scottish  Bishops  and  Clergy  had  conformed 
to  the  Revolution  settlement  of  the  crown.    Here,  indeed,  much  is  specu- 
lation and  uncertainty  ;  we  know  the  history  of  the  past,  but  we  cannot 
calculate  even  the  probabilities  of  the  future.    For  the  wisest  of  purposes, 
doubtless,  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  permitted  the  Scottish  branch 
of  his  Catholic  communion  and  fellowship  to  be  affected  in  its  temporal 
condition  by  political  changes,  and,  it  may  be,  by  human  passions,  pre 
judices,  and  errors.     To  suppose  that  the  angry  feelings  of  the  dis- 
appointed would  soon  havo  subsided,  or  that  any  thing  like  a  gene- 
ral recognition  of,  or  conformity  to,  apostolical  truth  and  order  would 
have  been  exhibited  on  the  part  of  the  more  violent  Presbyterians, 
and  especially  those  sects  of  them  called  the  Covenanters  and  Cameron- 
ians,  would  be  to  suppose  what  is  utterly  visionary,  fanciful,  and  con- 
tradicted by  experience    We  know  well  that  schisms,  heresies,  and  dis- 
sents, have  existed  from  the  earliest  times,  and  that  these  still  exist  in 
countries  where  apostolical  episcopacy  is  maintained  and  supported  as 
the  national  ecclesiastical  establishment.      In  Scotland  the  haven  of 
schism  was  introduced  with  tho  Reformation,  and  we  need  not  wonder 
at  such  being  the  fact,  when  we  consider  the  tumultuous  and  disgraceful 
manner  in  which  that  Reformation  was  conducted.     To  the  celebrated 
Andrew  Melyille,  however,  must  be  ascribed  the  introduction  <>t  tin- 


48  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Genevan  polity,  which  fermented  and  increased  in  violence  during  the 
latter  end  of  the  sixteenth  and  the  whole  of  the  seventeenth  centuries. 
If  the  Scottish  Bishops  and  Clergy  had  conformed  to  the  principles  of 
the  Revolution,  as  did  the  Church  of  England,  and  thus  preserved  the 
Church  as  the  national  establishment,  the  Presbyterians  would  have 
formed  a  considerable  party  of  Dissenters,  though  it  is  believed  not 
more  numerous  than  the  sect  called  Seceders,  who  have  departed  from 
the  present  Establishment.  If  the  Episcopal  Church  had  continued  the 
establishment  of  Scotland,  the  Presbyterians,  we  say,  would  have  form- 
ed a  large  body  of  Dissenters,  who  for  many  years  probably  would  have 
respected  neither  the  views,  the  principles,  nor  the  polity  of  the  Church, 
until  time  softened  their  resentments,  or  a  new  and  better  educated 
generation  would  consider  the  subject  unprejudiced  by  ignorance  and 
fanaticism.  In  that  case  where  would  have  been  the  various  sects  of 
Presbyterian  Dissenters — the  Secession,  the  Relief,  and  others,  both 
numerous  and  powerful,  who  left  the  present  legal  Establishment  long 
after  the  Revolution  of  1688  ?  Would  they  have  had  an  existence  at  all, 
when  the  causes  of  the  separation  from  the  Kirk  could  not  have  excited 
their  dissatisfaction  ?  The  answers  to  such  questions  as  these  must  be 
matters  of  opinion,  and  it  would  be  rash  to  decide  imperatively  or  con- 
fidently on  either  side. 


SCOTTISH  ETISCOPAL  CHURCH.  49 


CHAPTER  III. 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  ESTABLISHED  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  OF  SCOTLAND 

AT  THE  REVOLUTION — CONTINUED. 


It  is  stated  in  the  outset  of  the  present  work,  that,  in  a  temporal  sense, 
the  substitution  of  Presbyterianism  for  the  Church  in  Scotland  was  of 
no  pecuniary  benefit  to  the  country.  This  is  an  important  fact,  which 
must  be  kept  in  view,  as  illustrating  in  a  remarkable  manner  the  his- 
tory of  that  age.  We  have  seen  that  the  Crown  seized  the  whole  of  the 
Episcopal  revenues,  and  that  these  are  levied  at  the  present  day  as  if 
every  See  in  Scotland  was  filled  by  its  legitimate  Bishop.  Let  us  now 
attend  to  more  important  matters  than  mere  temporalities,  and  take  a 
short  view  of  the  doctrine,  discipline,  and  form  of  worship  of  the  Epis- 
copal Church  of  Scotland,  previous  to  and  at  the  period  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. 

That  Church  has  been  often  represented  as  an  intolerable  burden  on  the 
people,  and  as  compelling  them  to  submit  to  rites  and  ceremonies  which 
they  inveterately  disliked.  We  hear  much,  too,  of  the  persecuted  Co- 
venanters, as  if  the  Church  had  been  the  great  cause  of  persecuting 
thoso  persons.  The  very  reverse,  however,  is  the  case.  Whatever  the 
Presbyterian  writers  may  say  to  the  contrary,  it  is  well  known  that  at 
the  Restoration  the  re-establishment  of  the  ancient  form  of  Church 
Government  was  agreeable  to  a  large  proportion  of  the  peoplo,  and 
many  well  informed  Presbyterians  attended  public  worship  in  their 
parish  churches.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  which  shows  the  conduct  of 
the  Covenanters  and  their  leaden  in  its  true  light,  that  from  the  Re- 
storation to  the  Revolution  there  was  scar<-rln  an  outward  distinction 

p 


50  HISTORY  OF  THE 

between  the  Episcopalians  and  the  Presbyterians  in  faith,  worship,   or 
discipline. 

Every  reader  knows  the  failure  of  the  attempt  to  introduce  the  Scot- 
tish Liturgy  in  the  year  1G37,  and  the  serious  riot  which  occurred  in 
the  cathedral  church  of  St  Giles  at  Edinburgh  on  that  occasion.  The 
General  Assembly  at  Glasgow  was  held  on  the  following  year,  when  the 
Scottish  Archbishops  and  Bishops  were  accused  of  every  possible  crime, 
however  odious  or  fanciful,  and  excommunicated.  The  great  Civil 
War  commenced,  and  the  murder  of  King  Charles  I.  consummated  the 
national  turmoil.  The  Scottish  agents  in  that  tragedy  seem  to  have 
been  conscience-stricken  at  the  result,  which  they  had  chiefly  assisted 
In  accelerating,  and  they  accordingly  attempted  to  oppose  Cromwell's 
career,  by  espousing  in  their  own  way  the  cause  of  Charles  II.  Crom- 
well, however,  who  knew  them  well,  baffled  all  their  projects,  and  he 
conquered  Scotland,  which  was  quiet  during  his  domination  by  the 
strong  arm  of  military  power.  The  man  who  had  braved  and  dismissed, 
as  a  pack  of  traitors,  the  Parliament  of  England,  was  not  likely  to  be 
alarmed  at,  or  tolerate  the  meetings  of,  a  General  Assembly  of  Presby- 
terian ministers.* 

At  the  Restoration  of  Charles  II.,  when  the  Church  was  re-establish- 
ed, no  liturgy  or  public  form  of  prayer  was  introduced,  and  no  Presby- 
terian could  plead  a  violation  of  his  conscience  by  acknowledging  that 
to  which  he  might  entertain  conscientious  objections.  The  Liturgy  of 
the  Church  of  England,  which  does  not  differ  much  from  the  Scottish 
Liturgy,  was  indeed  used  in  some  places,  but  it  was  with  the  entire 
consent  and  approbation  of  the  people.  In  the  North  of  Scotland,  and 
particularly  in  the  city  and  county  of  Aberdeen,  where  the  Episcopa- 
lians have  always  been  numerous  since  the  Reformation,  the  Liturgy 
was  probably  used  in  some  churches.  We  know  that  it  was  used  in  the 
Chapel-Royal  of  Holyroodhouse,  and  in  the  parish  church  of  Salton  in 
Haddingtonshire  by  Dr  Gilbert  Burnet,  during  the  four  years  of  his 
incumbency,  before  he  was  invited  to  the  chair  of  Theology  in  the  Uni- 

*  During  the  troubles  in  the  latter  end  of  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  the  communion 
was  seldom  administered  in  the  city  of  Glasgow,  and  it  was  not  celebrated  in  the 
years  1646,  1647,  1651,  1652,  1653,  1658,  and  1659 — New  Statistical  Account  of 
Scotland — Lanarkshire,  p.  118. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUKCH.  51 

versity  of  Glasgow,  from  1GG5  to  1GG9.*  Some  of  the  parochial  incum- 
bents compiled  forms  of  prayer  for  the  use  of  their  respective  congre- 
gations, with  some  petitions  and  collects  taken  from  the  English  Litur- 
gy ;  but  this  was  merely  optional,  and  the  prayers  were  generally  extem- 
pore, or  said  in  the  same  manner  as  those  who  reject  a  liturgy  or  set 
forms  of  prayer.  All  the  clergy,  however,  concluded  their  prayers, 
whether  previously  arranged  or  not,  with  the  Lord's  Prayer,  which  was 
followed  by  singing  the  Doxology,  or  Gloria  Patri,  both  of  which  observ- 
ances the  Presbyterian  enthusiasts  denounced  as  formal  and  supersti 
tious  ;  and  it  is  curious,  that  in  many  parts  of  Scotland  the  people  to 
this  day  have  a  very  great  objection  to  hear  the  Lord's  Prayer  said,  or 
the  Scriptures  read  in  public,  alleging  that  they  can  do  so  at  home 
themselves.  We  need  not  be  surprised  at  this  folly,  to  say  the  least,  on 
the  part  of  an  illiterate  peasantry,  when  we  find  a  Presbyterian  mini- 
ster of  great  repute  gravely  maintaining  that  the  Lord's  Prayer  is  a 
Jeicish,  and  not  a  Christian  prayer,  and  cannot  with  propriety  be  intro  - 
duced  into  Christian  worship  !i 

But  it  appears  that  even  the  offensive  Doxology  was  sometimes  omit- 
ted to  please  the  tender  consciences  of  the  objectors.  This  occurred  at 
least  in  the  Presbytery  of  Paisley,  and  may  have  happened  in  other 
quarters.  Some  of  the  clergy  were  brought  before  the  Archbishop  of 
Glasgow,  in  whose  diocese  they  were,  on  this  account.  It  was  urged,  in 
defence,  that  none  of  the  people  would  join  in  the  psalmody,  and  that 
the  minister  and  clerk  (called  in  Scotland  the  precentor)  being  the  only 
performers,  and  sometimes  both  of  them  alike  destitute  of  a  musical 


•  While  noticing  Salton  in  connection  with  Bishop  Burnet,  it  may  be  mentioned,  that 
when  he  was  placed  in  his  more  elevated  station  he  was  not  unmindful  of  this  scene  o\' 
his  early  labours.  1  le  bequeathed  in  trust  the  sum  of  20,000  merks,  the  present  value 
of  which  is  I,. 2000,  producing  the  annual  sum  of  L.80,  being  invested  on  heritable 
security  at  4  per  cent.,  for  the  education  and  clothing  of  thirty  children  of  the  "poorer 
sort;"  for  the  erection  of  a  new  fcchoolhouse,  and  affording  an  augmentation  of  the 
schoolmaster's  salary  ;  for  the  increase  of  a  library  begun  to  be  formed  '•'  far  the  mi- 

niflter'a  house  and  use  ;''  and  the  remainder  for  relieving  the   necessitous  poor.      The 

children  connected  with  this  fund  are  familiarly  termed  fasAops  in  the  pariah,  and 
the  gallery  appropriated  for  their  use  in  the  church  is  likely  always  to  retain  its  ap- 
pellation of  ///«   Bishop't  l.nft. 

\    Sermons   by   Andrew  Thomson,    D.D.,  Minister   of  St  QeOTgeS    Church,    F.din- 

bnr 


52  HISTORY  OF  THE 

ear,  the  effect  was  bad,  and  the  discord  intolerable.  Nevertheless,  these 
pleadings  were  of  no  avail,  and  the  Archbishop  ordered  them  to  obey 
the  injunction  of  singing  the  Doxology  every  Sunday,  to  explain  it  to 
the  people,  and  exhort  them  to  compliance.* 

It  is  farther  to  be  observed,  that  there  were  no  organs  in  the  parish  . 
churches,  for  the  cathedrals,  with  three  exceptions,  Glasgow,  Edinburgh, 
and  Kirkwall  in  Orkney,  had  been  almost  demolished  by  the  leaders  of 
the  Reformation  and  their  destructive  followers  in  the  previous  century. 
Perhaps  the  only  exception,  at  least  one  of  the  very  few  with  respect  to 
organs,  was  the  Abbey  church  of  Holyroodhouse.  There  were  no  fixed 
communion  tables,  neither  the  Bishops  nor  the  clergy  wore  their  episco- 
pal robes  and  surplices  during  the  ordinary  performance  of  divine  ser- 
vice ;  and  it  is  not  even  certain  whether  the  latter  wore  black  gowns, 
though  it  appears  from  various  contemporary  portraits  that  the  Bishops 
did  so  on  ordinary  occasions.  As  there  was  no  Liturgy,  no  responses 
were  made,  or  expected  to  be  made,  by  the  congregation.  The  two  sa- 
craments of  Baptism  and  the  Eucharist  were  administered  by  both 
Episcopalians  and  Presbyterians  nearly  in  the  same  manner,  without 
signing  with  the  sign  of  the  cross  in  the  one,  or  kneeling  at  the  other. 
Only,  when  administering  baptism,  the  Episcopal  clergy  required  an  as- 
sent to  the  Apostles'  Creed,  as  the  ground  of  the  infant's  religious  edu- 
cation, a  condition  to  which  no  Presbyterian  could  reasonably  object, 
since  they  demanded  an  acknowledgment  of  all  the  dogmas  of  the 
Westminster  Confession,  and  the  more  violent  of  them  even  an  as- 
sent to  that  precious  document,  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant. 

As  it  respects  the  doctrines  of  the  Church,  although  these  were 
avowedly  the  same  as  the  Thirty-Nine  Articles,  yet  these  Articles  were 
seldom  or  never  even  mentioned.  The  old  Confession  of  Faith,  drawn 
up  by  the  early  Scottish  Reformers,  and  ratified  in  1567,  had  been  all 
along  the  received  and  common  standard  of  both  parties  ;  but  the  Pres- 
byterians had  introduced  that  lengthy  compilation,  which  is  now  their 
favourite  standard,  the  Westminster  Confession,  in  many  points  different 
from,  and  in  some  directly  opposed  to,  the  old  Scottish  Confession.  It 
is  well  known  that  the  Westminster  Assembly,  which  met  by  an  ordi- 
nance of  the  Parliament  in  1643,  and  sat  till  February  22,  1648-9, 

*  New  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland — Renfrewshire,  p.  131. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  53 

about  three  weeks  after  the  murder  of  the  King,  had  for  their  object 
the  modest  design  of  establishing  an  uniformity  of  doctrine,  discipline, 
and  worship,  throughout  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  which  they 
designed  to  do  in  the  most  compulsory  manner  ;  and  the  English,  Irish, 
and  Scottish  Churches,  and  the  Irish  Roman  Catholics,  were  to  be 
compelled  to  recognise  Calvinistic  Presbyterianism.  The  prospect  of 
establishing  Presbyterianism  in  England  was  held  out  by  Cromwell  as 
a  snare  to  the  leaders  of  the  party,  and  this  was  one  of  their  induce- 
ments to  sell  the  King — fanaticism  thus  uniting  with  avarice  in  the  most 
odious  transaction  which  stains  the  annals  of  the  Scottish  nation.  Of 
the  compilers  of  the  Westminster  Confession,  as  also  of  the  Larger  and 
Shorter  Catechism,  now  recognised  by  the  Presbyterian  Establishment 
of  Scotland,  Lord  Clarendon  allows  that  "  about  twenty  of  them*  were 
reverend  and  worthy  persons,  and  episcopal  in  their  judgments,  but  as 
to  the  remainder  they  were  mere  pretenders  to  divinity  ;  some  were  in- 
famous in  their  lives  and  conversations,  and  most  of  them  of  very  mean 
parts  and  learning,  if  not  of  scandalous  ignorance,  and  of  no  other  repu- 
tation than  of  malice  to  the  Church  of  England."  It  is  possible,  as 
Eachard  intimates,  that  these  statements  of  the  Noble  historian  are  too 
severe,  especially  that  of  some  of  them  being  "  infamous  in  their  lives." 
Neal,  the  historian  of  the  Puritans,  says  of  them,  that  "  though  their 
sentiments  in  divinity  were  in  many  instances  too  narrow  and  contract- 
ed, yet,  with  all  their  faults,  among  which  their  persecuting  zeal  for  re- 
ligion icas  not  the  least,  they  were  certainly  men  of  real  piety  and  virtue, 
who  meant  well,  and  had  the  interest  of  religion  at  heart ;"  and,  "  if 
they  had  not  grasped  at  coercive  power  or  jurisdiction  over  the  con- 
sciences of  men,  their  characters  would  have  been  unblemished. — The 
divine  right  of  the  Presbyterian  government  first  threw  them  into  heats, 
and  then  divided  them,  engaging  them  with  the  Parliament,  and  then 
with  the  Independents  and  Erastians.  Their  opposing  a  toleration 
raised  them  a  great  many  enemies,  and  caused  a  secession  in  their 
own  liody." 

Such  are  the  sources  from  which  the  Presbyterians  of  Scotland  de- 

The  names  of  Bishop  Reynolds,  Wallis,  Twiase,  Arrowsmith,  Greenbill,  Gate- 
ker,  Selden,  Lightfoot,  and  others,  w\\\  always  l><-  mentioned  with  respect     Tin 
sent   from  Scotland  were  men  of  poor  ahiliti<   .  littlr  lean  o  reputation, 

except  a>  agitators,  and  restl     lead*  ra  oi  an  enthusiastic  peasantry 


54  HISTORY  OF  THE 

rived  their  theological  standards,  and  at  the  period  of  the  Revolution 
they  cherished  all  the  intolerance  of  which  even  the  prejudiced  histo- 
rian of  the  Puritans  complains.  Yet  will  it  be  believed  that  those  very 
men,  who  adopted  a  religious  code  the  most  exclusive  and  the  most  ty- 
rannical, if  all  it  contains  was  practised,  and  who  wanted  to  deny  to 
others  what  they  claimed  for  themselves,  accused  the  Scottish  Episco- 
pal Church  of  cruelty  and  oppression  ?  Those  very  men,  who  in  their 
Solemn  League  and  Covenant  bound  themselves  by  an  oath  to  extirpate, 
ivith  the  sword,  Popery,  Prelacy,  by  which  latter  they  meant  the  Church, 
Erastianism,  Independency,  Anabaptism,  and  all  the  mushroom  mo- 
dern sects  then  in  existence,  which  had  departed  from  the  commu- 
nion of  the  Church  catholic,  complained  that  their  consciences  were  vio- 
lated by  an  ecclesiastical  establishment,  the  fundamental  doctrines  and 
principles  of  which  they  either  would  not  or  could  not  understand,  or 
which  they  either  ignorantly  or  wilfully  perverted  and  misrepresented. 
It  is  distinctly  denied  that  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland  was  viewed 
as  a  grievance  by  the  great  mass  of  the  nation,  the  deluded  peasantry 
of  the  western  counties  excepted.  With  regard  to  discipline,  the 
dioceses  were  composed  of  Presbyteries,  as  the  Synods  are  at  the  present 
time.  Every  parish  had  its  kirk-session,  at  the  head  of  which  was  the 
incumbent.  In  the  parish  of  Salton,  for  example,  already  mentioned, 
where  Dr  Patrick  Scougall  was  incumbent  five  years  before  he  was  ele- 
vated to  the  Bishopric  of  Aberdeen,*  it  is  admitted,  on  the  authority  of 
its  Presbyterian  minister,  that  "  during  the  period  of  his  incumbency  the 
eldership  appears  to  have  been  much  more  numerous,  in  proportion  to 
the  amount  of  population,  than  in  modern  times.  From  the  Kirk- Ses- 
sion records  it  appears  that  in  1633-35,  when  the  number  of  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  parish  was  probably  under  six  hundred,  there  were  no  fewer 
than  nineteen  elders  in  office."!  Does  this  appear  as  if  the  Episcopal 
Church  of  Scotland  had  been  obnoxious  to  the  mass  of  the  people  ? 
Other  instances  are  adduced  in  the  proper  place  in  the  sequel. 


*  Bishop  Scougall  was  the  immediate  predecessor  of  Bishop  Burnet.  He  was  the 
father  of  the  eminent  and  pious  Henry  Scougall,  author  of  the  "  Life  of  God  in  the 
Soul  of  Man,"  who  died  while  Professor  of  Theology  in  King's  College,  in  the  twenty- 
eighth  year  of  his  age.  To  Henry  Scougall  may  be  applied  the  favourite  adage  of 
Archbishop  Leighton — Diu  vixit  qui  bene  vixit. 

f  New  Stat.  Account  of  Scotland — Haddingtonshire,  p.  1 10. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  55 

The  Presbyteries  of  the  several  dioceses  were  constituted  in  much  the 
same  manner  as  they  are  at  present  under  the  Presbyterian  system,  and 
in  these  Presbyteries  the  moderator  or  chairman  was  always  nominated 
by  the  Bishop  of  the  diocese.  In  the  Provincial  Diocesan  Synods  the 
Bishop  always  presided,  or  in  his  absence  the  Dean,  or  some  one  by  his 
appointment,  and  in  the  General  Assemblies,  whenever  the  Government 
deemed  it  expedient  that  such  convocations  should  be  held,  the  Arch- 
bishop of  St  Andrews,  as  Primate  of  all  Scotland  and  Metropolitan, 
would  have  presided  as  Moderator,  especially  if  the  meeting  had  been 
held  in  any  town  in  his  own  or  in  his  suffragan  dioceses. 

Many  further  illustrations  could  be  adduced,  but  the  town  and  Pres- 
bytery of  Paisley,  as  given  on  the  authority  of  the  Established  Presby- 
terians themselves,  will  furnish  an  example.* 

When  the  Church  was  re-established  at  the  Restoration  the  Presby- 
terian Presbytery  was  dissolved  ;  but  it  was  re-constructed  in  1 663  by  an 
act  of  Dr  Fairfoull,  Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  and  the  Synod  of  Glasgow 
and  Ayr.  The  first  meeting  was  held  on  the  29th  of  October  that  year, 
and  consisted  of  only  five  members,  with  two  correspondents  from  the 
Presbyteries  of  Glasgow  and  Dunbarton.  If  the  reader  is  surprised  at 
the  limited  number  of  members  of  the  Episcopal  Presbytery  of  Paisley,  it 
must  be  recollected  that  Renfrewshire  was  one  of  the  most  fanatical  coun- 
ties in  the  West  of  Scotland,  and  even  at  the  present  day  the  leaven  of 
Covenanting  prejudices  is  not  a  little  prevalent.  In  1684,  Dr  Arthur 
Ross,  then  Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  ordered  the  meetings  of  the  Presby- 
tery of  Paisley  always  to  take  place  in  that  town,  instead  of  the  neigh- 
bouring royal  burgh  of  Renfrew,  where  some  meetings  had  been  held. 
In  1670,  a  meeting  was  held  at  Paisley  between  Archbishop  Leighton 
and  Dr  Gilbert  Burnet  on  the  part  of  the  Church,  and  certain  **  bre- 
thren" of  Paisley,  Glasgow,  and  neighbourhood,  on  the  side  of  the 
Presbyterians  ;  but  the  demands  of  the  latter  were  so  extravagant,  that 
no  accommodation  could  be  made  between  the  parties.  In  1670,  a 
meeting  of  Presbyterian  ministers  was  held  at  Paisley,  when  a  warning 
against  Popery  was  drawn  up  by  them,  together  witli  a  short  vindica- 
tion  of   Presbyterian  principle-,    but   the   paper    was    never    printed. 

Alter  this,     MJS  WodlW,   their  champion  and  historian,   "  till  the 

"  N<\\  Statistical  Account  of  ScotUm-l  —  Renfrewshire,  p.  221,  ei  teq 


56  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Revolution,  Presbyterian  ministers  had  few  meetings  ;  and  I  shall  have 
little  more  to  say  of  them  but  that  they  remained  in  retirement,  few 
venturing  to  preach  in  the  fields,  and  some  now  and  then  in  private 
houses :  and  through  the  following  years  I  shall  have  little  more  to  re- 
late but  a  continued  scene  of  persecution  of  ministers  and  people,  and 
heavy  oppression  of  the  whole  country."  What  Wodrow  considers  per- 
secution and  oppression  is  simply  because  the  Government  would  not 
allow  the  wild  preachers  to  say  and  do  anything  they  pleased,  and  be- 
cause, when  they  excited  the  peasantry  to  open  rebellion  and  bloodshed, 
such  of  them  as  were  taken  prisoners  were  punished  as  rebels.  No  one 
knew  better  than  Wodrow  that  those  Presbyterian  ministers  who  chose 
to  live  peaceably  were  protected  by  the  Government,  and  against  those 
preachers  the  Covenanters  and  other  dangerous  zealots  "were  as  furious 
as  against  the  Episcopal  Clergy.  Many  Presbyterian  teachers  com- 
plied with  the  indulgence,  against  which  the  Covenanters  and  Cameron- 
ians  testified  as  vehemently  as  against  the  Church  ;  and  they  were 
ironically  designated  the  King's  Curates,  in  common  with  the  regular 
parochial  clergy,  who  were  styled  the  Bishop's  Curates.  What  the 
Duke  of  Lauderdale  said,  when  he  refused  to  relieve  the  field  preachers 
confined  on  the  Bass  Rock,  in  the  mouth  of  the  Firth  of  Forth,  was  ap- 
plicable to  too  many  of  the  Presbyterians  in  Scotland: — "  The  party," 
he  declared,  "  were  unworthy  of  any  favour."  In  Paisley,  some  of  their 
preachers  procured  the  indulgence,  and  were  allowed  to  retain  their 
benefices.  In  the  parish  registers  of  that  town,  which  contain  some 
curious  notices  of  manners,  and  of  passing  events  in  civil  and  ecclesias- 
tical history,  we  find  the  following  entries  connected  with  what  Wod- 
row designates  the  "  Prelatical  Synods  and  Presbyteries,"  and  what  the 
Presbyterian  writers  of  an  Account  of  the  Town  and  Parish  of  Paisley 
politely  call  the  "  leaven  of  Episcopacy' — a  Church  viewed  by  these 
two  persons  with  great  honour  :* — "  January  12,  1681. — The  said  day 
the  acts  of  Synod  were  read ;  and  the  brethren  interrogat  as  to  their 
attending  thereof,  all  of  them  report  that  they  say  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
and  either  sing  or  say  the  Doxologie  :  and  they  promise  that,  so  soon 
as  the  country  shall  in  any  measure  settle  cheerfully,  to  go  about  obedi- 


*  Dr  Robert  Burns   and  Mr  Robert  Maenair,  two  of  the  present  Kirk  ministers 
of  Paisley,  in  the  New  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland — Renfrewshire,  p.  224,  242. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  57 

ence  to  the  act  of  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  December 
21,  1681. — The  Moderator  produces  ane  order  particularlie  directed  to 
him  from  the  Archbishop  (Dr  Arthur  Ross),  requiring  him,  in  pre- 
sence of  the  remanent  brethren,  to  administer  the  oath  called  the  Test 
to  all  schoolmasters,  doctors,  and  chaplains,  within  the  bounds  of  the 
Presbytrie  ;  and  to  report  his  diligence  hereanent  betwixt  and  first  of 
January  1682." 

A  careful  inquiry  into  the  state  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church 
will  more  and  more  convince  us  that  the  Covenanters  and  Presbyterians 
of  every  description  had  no  real  grievances  of  which  they  could  com- 
plain ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  the  title  and  functions  of  Archbishop 
and  Bishop,  and  the  canonical  succession  thereof,  there  is  scarcely  any- 
thing to  be  perceived  analogous  to  the  present  state  of  the  Scottish 
Episcopal  Church.  There  was  no  Liturgy,  no  ritual  of  any  kind,  no 
ceremonies :  and,  although  the  Church  was  essentially  episcopal  in  her 
constitution,  and  her  clergy  apostolically  ordained  Priests  and  Deacons, 
the  outward  services  of  religion  were  conducted  precisely  as  the  Pres- 
byterian preachers  did  themselves.  Every  Episcopalian  knows  that  a 
Liturgy  or  set  form  of  prayer  for  public  worship,  and  the  administration 
of  the  sacraments  and  offices  of  religion,  is  no  part  of  Episcopacy,  any 
more  than  the  want  of  it  is  any  peculiar  feature  of  Presbyterianism  ; 
and  he  supports  the  Church  from  very  different  principles,  and  by  other 
arguments,  than  those  which  are  successfully  urged  respecting  the  ex- 
pediency and  necessity  of  a  liturgical  form  of  prayer,  in  which  all  can 
join  and  be  edified,  in  opposition  to  the  often  irreverent  phraseology 
of  extemporary  praying.  When  Calamy,  a  well-known  and  celebrated 
English  Presbyterian,  was  informed  of  the  procedure  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  of  Scotland  and  its  services,  he  exclaimed,  in  reference  to  the 
conduct  of  the  Presbyterians  and  Covenanters — "  What  would  our  bre- 
thren in  Scotland  be  at,  or  what  would  they  have  ?  Would  to  God  we 
had  these  offers."*  And  yet,  in  defiance  of  all  this  incontrovertible 
evidence,  the  Presbyterian  writers  persist  in  accusing  the  Episcopal 
Church  of  forcing  upon  the  people  a  mode  of  faith  and  worship  which  they 
conscientiously  deemed  to  be  unscriptural     Is  it  candid,  fair,  or  honest, 


•  Appendix  *"  Keith*!  Catalogue  of  Scottish  Bishops,  edited  bj  Bishop  Russell, 

!>.  4'.» S 


58  HISTORY  OF  THE 

to  bring  forward  such  statements,  when  they  can  be  all  proved  to  be 
false,  and  utterly  opposed  to  facts  ? 

It  does  not  appear  in  what  peculiar  way  the  Scottish  Bishops  exer- 
cised their  authority  ;  and  it  probably  varied  according  to  the  state  of 
the  diocese.  In  the  South  and  West  of  Scotland,  where  the  Covenanters 
particularly  abounded,  a  vigilant  eye  was  kept  on  their  conduct ;  and 
the  Government  deemed  it  necessary  to  deal  severely  with  those  in- 
tolerant  persons.  It  appears  from  the  following  statement,  that  in  some 
parishes  there  was  a  regular  calling  of  the  names  of  the  parishioners  be- 
fore divine  service  was  commenced.  Mr  Robert  Aird  in  1666,  and  Mr 
William  Cunninghame  in  1683,  were  the  Episcopal  incumbents  of  the 
parish  of  Lochwinnoch,  in  Renfrewshire.  "  One  of  them,"  we  are  told, 
''was  very  strict  in  requiring  the  parishioners  to  conform  to  Episco- 
pacy, and  in  reporting  those  who  were  irregular  and  refractory ;  but 
the  other  was  easy  and  indulgent,  and  if  they  appeared  to  answer  to 
their  names  at  the  commencement  of  public  worship,  he  connived  at  their 
retiring,  without  requiring  them  to  remain  and  join  in  the  service  ; 
and,  therefore,  he  has  left  a  favourable  impression  behind  him  in  the 
parish."*  In  the  town  and  parish  of  Haddington  every  parent  was 
obliged,  under  a  penalty,  to  have  his  child  baptized  by  the  incumbent. 

It  is  curious  to  observe  the  manner  in  which  the  Presbyterian  mini- 
sters speak  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy  of  Scotland  before  the  Revolution, 
when  they  happen  to  notice  them.  Of  course,  according  to  them,  the 
partizans  of  their  party  were  all  pious,  virtuous,  liberal,  and  amiable  ; 
while  the  Clergy  are  often  described  as  the  reverse.  Two  incumbents 
successively  held  the  parish  of  Langton,  in  Berwickshire,  before  the 
Revolution— Mr  Robert  Hooper  from  1677  to  1683,  and  Mr  Patrick 
Walker  from  1683  to  1688.  We  are  told  that  "  the  first  seems  to  have 
been  a  peaceable  man;  the  second  was  a  bigoted  Prelatist."t  The 
period  between  the  Restoration  and  the  Revolution  is,  by  another  per- 
son, called  the  "  period  of  Episcopal  domination."  The  Presbytery  of 
Haddington  were  "  beginning  to  adopt  Episcopalian  mews  and  practices 
at  the  Revolution  ;"  and  Mr  Laurence  Charteris,  their  Moderator,  who 
had  been  so  from  1671  to  1676,  was  appointed  by  the  Lord  Bishop  of 

*  New  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland — Renfrewshire,  p.  94. 
f  Ibid.     1836— Berwickshire,  p-  242. 


\ 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  59 

Edinburgh  (Dr  Alexander  Young),  in  January  1676,  to  be  Professor 
of  Divinity  in  the  University  of  that  city.  After  the  Revolution  he 
died  minister  of  Dirleton.  In  December  1682,  Mr  Robert  Meldrum, 
minister  of  Garvald,  was  appointed  by  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  (Dr 
John  Paterson)  to  be  minister  of  Yester,  in  the  county  of  Haddington. 
"  In  this  situation,"  we  are  told,  "  he  remained  till  December  1699, 
notwithstanding  the  political  and  ecclesiastical  changes  which  during 
his  incumbency  had  taken  place  in  the  nation.  The  change  from  Pre- 
lacy to  Presbytery  at  the  Revolution  does  not  seem  to  have  changed  his 
determination  to  continue  minister  of  Yester  ;  and  though  this  circum- 
stance might  make  some  regard  him  as  a  second  Vicar  of  Bray,  yet  he 
appears  to  have  been  a  faithful  minister.  The  following  entry  in  refer- 
ence to  him  is  made  in  the  Session  Records  : — '  December  17,  1699 — 
No  sermon,  our  minister  being  dead,  having  faithfullie,  in  the  office  of 
the  ministery,  served  at  this  church  exactly  seventeen  years,  from  the 
serving  of  his  edict  here  to  the  next  day  after  his  funeral.'"* 

In  the  account  of  the  parish  of  Errol,  in  Perthshire,  there  is  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  the  Kirk- Session  Records: — "  Sabbath,  September 
8,  1689 — No  sermon,  because  the  troopers  came  into  the  town  with 
sound  of  trumpet,  and  dissipat  the  people  ;  and  the  minister  was  in- 
formed that  they  would  offer  violence  to  him."  The  minister  here  re- 
ferred to  was  John  Nicolson,  D.D.,  incumbent  from  1666  to  1691-92, 
when  he  was  deprived  for  not  submitting  to  the  new  Government.  His 
faithfulness  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  is  honourably  recorded : — 
"  November  1,  1689. — The  Session  this  day,  with  ane  voice,  declared 
that  the  Doctor  had  been  very  painful  and  faithful  in  the  exercise  of  all 
the  points  and  parts  of  the  ministerial  function  among  them." 

But  as  these  matters  are  more  copiously  treated  in  succeeding  chap- 
ters, the  reader's  attention  is  directed  to  the  following  exquisite  speci- 
men of  Presbyterian  writing,  illustrative  of  the  parish  of  St  Mungo  in 
Dumfries-shire,  from  a  work  to  which  reference  is  often  made  in  these 
pages.  In  1795,  "  the  church  was  a  ruin — without  bell,  pews,  Bibles,  or 
utensils  for  administering  the  sacraments,  and  the  minister  occasional/;/ 
officiated  in  a  shepherd's  plaid.  There  was  no  schoolhouse.  schoolmas- 
ter, or  provision  for  one  :  non-  every  thing  necessarj  i^  provided  for  the 

•  New  Statistical  A.ccoun1  of  Scotland     Haddingtonshire,  1835,  p<  l( 


60  HISTORY  OF  THE 

church ;  there  is  an  endowed  school  and  well  educated  schoolmaster ; 
and  the  minister  is  attired  in  that  Popish  rag  a  gown.  Formerly  the 
Seceders  would  not  be  present  when  any  Established  minister  was  cele- 
brating any  divine  ordinance,  and  the  Episcopal  Clergy,  in  terror  of  the 
people,  performed  the  rites  of  burial  in  private.  The  present  incumbent 
has  been  sent  for  to  attend  the  sick  and  dying  Seceders,  and  the  funeral 
rites  of  the  Episcopal  Church  are  performed  openly  in  our  churches  and 
burial  grounds.71* 

*  New  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland — Dumfries-shire,  1834,  p.  217. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  61 


CHAPTER  IV, 

PERSECUTION  OF  THE  SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CLERGY  AFTER  THE 

REVOLUTION. 

The  Revolution  was  commenced  at  Edinburgh  by  a  riot  in  the  city, 
an  attack  on  the  Palace  of  Holyrood,  the  Chapel-Royal  of  which  was 
dilapidated  by  the  mob,  and  the  houses  of  those  who  were  considered 
Roman  Catholics  were  pillaged.  Similar  excesses  occurred  in  other 
towns,  and  in  too  many  instances  they  were  indirectly  encouraged  by 
the  authorities.  The  parochial  Episcopal  clergy,  however,  were  the 
principal  sufferers. 

The  Church  of  England  has  been  repeatedly  assailed  on  account  of 
the  Act  of  Uniformity  of  1662,  and  a  certain  class  of  sectarian  writers 
continually  recur  to  what  they  term  the  Black  Day  of  St  Bartholomew, 
in  their  endeavours  to  stigmatize  the  Church  of  England  as  the  enemy  of 
liberty  of  conscience.  It  would  be  easy  to  show  that  these  charges  are 
unfounded,  and  that  they  can  be  satisfactorily  retorted  on  the  sects  to 
which  those  belong  who  advance  them.  In  like  manner,  the  Episcopal 
Church  of  Scotland  is  accused  of  persecuting  the  Presbyterians  and 
Covenanters,  who  are  invariably  represented  by  their  supporters  as 
patriots  and  martyrs.  If  the  Covenanters  were  persecuted  at  all, 
they  were  persecuted  by  the  State,  and  not  by  the  Church,  on  charges 
of  murder,  rebellion,  and  treason,  inasmuch  as  they  denounced  the 
royal  authority,  and  took  arms  against  tho  legal  Government  of  the 
time.  Tho  measures  which  that  Government  thought  it  necessary  to 
follow  against  the  Covenanters  maybe  denounced,  deplored,  or  defended, 
according  to  the  views  entertained  of  the  principles  and  opinions  of  the 
age,  but  any  candid  person  who  peruses  with  impartiality  the  writings, 


02  HISTORY  OF  THE 

speeches,  and  other  memorials  of  the  Presbyterians  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  especially  the  Covenanters,  will  at  once  perceive  they  would  have 
far  exceeded  the  Episcopal  Church  in  the  work  of  persecution  if  they  had 
possessed  the  power.  "  A  man's  writings,"  it  is  well  observed,  "  may  al- 
ways be  taken  as  evidence  of  his  opinions,  and  the  writings  of  the  Episco- 
palians will  not  appear  to  their  disadvantage  when  arranged  on  the  same 
page  with  those  of  the  Presbyterians. — What  is  the  language  of  the 
public  documents  of  the  Presbyterians  ?  The  divine  right  of  Presbyte- 
rial  Government  is  positively  asserted  in  the  Confession  of  Faith  and 
the  Book  of  Discipline.  The  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England  breathe 
the  spirit  of  liberality,  but  the  Covenant  bound  every  Presbyterian  to 
endeavour  to  extirpate  Episcopacy.  The  Episcopalians  were  never 
bound  by  their  creed  to  destroy  their  opponents.  The  Presbyterians 
fought  not  for  liberty  of  conscience,  but  to  impose  the  uniformity  of  the 
Covenant."*  As  it  respects  Scotland,  the  Episcopalians  had  as  much 
right  to  the  temporal  benefits  of  a  national  establishment  as  the  Pres- 
byterians. The  supporters  of  the  Episcopal  Church  were  numerous, 
certainly  as  respectable,  many  of  them  superior  in  rank,  and  of  great 
family  and  local  influence  ;  while  it  will  not  be  denied  that  the  clergy 
as  a  body  were  at  least  as  pious,  learned,  and  upright  as  their  oppo- 
nents. 

Smollett,  who  cannot  be  accused  of  an  undue  partiality  towards  the 
Church,  represents  the  Presbyterians,  when  they  became  triumphant 
after  the  Revolution,  as  "  proceeding  with  ungovernable  violence  to  per- 
secute the  Episcopal  party,  exercising  the  very  same  tyranny  against 
which  they  had  themselves  so  loudly  exclaimed."  Guthrie,  noticing 
the  vote  in  the  Convention  that  "prelacy  and  superiority  of  any  office 
in  the  Church  above  Presbyters  is  and  has  been  a  great  and  insupport- 
able grievance  to  this  nation,"  says — "  Though  this  vote  was  absurd, 
and  founded  upon  more  falsehoods  than  one,  yet  it  was  expedient,  if  not 
necessary.  The  friends  of  prelacy,"  in  his  opinion,  "  had  slavish  notions 
of  prerogative,  and  it  was  found  necessary  not  to  represent  Episcopacy 
as  a  grievance,  but  to  make  its  abolition  one  of  the  pacta  conventa  of  the 
new  settlement." — "  The  re-establishment  of  Presbytery,"  continues 
this  writer,  "  was  attended  with  the  most  dreadful  consequences.     About 

*  History  of  the  English  Episcopacy,  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Lathbury,  M.A.  Oxon. 
p.  337,  350,  351. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  63 

threescore  ministers  were  alive  of  those  who  had  been  turned  out  in  the 
year  1662,  and  they  were  replaced  in  their  former  livings,  with  orders 
to  fill  up  the  vacancies  in  the  best  manner  they  could.  This  opened  a 
door  for  terrible  abuses.  The  young  men  who  had  been  privately  or- 
dained in  the  Presbyterian  way,  and  were  called  to  the  vacancies,  were 
many  of  them  enthusiasts,  and  had  been  heated  almost  into  frenzy 
by  zeal  and  persecution.  They  drove  the  Episcopal  ministers,  their 
wives  and  families,  from  their  livings  into  the  fields,  with  a  barbarity 
that  would  have  disgraced  the  worst  of  infidels,  and  some  of  them  per- 
ished with  cold,  hunger,  and  blows."* 

In  the  western  and  south-western  counties  of  Scotland  the  persecu- 
tion of  the  Episcopal  clergy  was  most  severe  after  the  outbreaking  of 
the  Revolution,  even  before  it  was  known  what  kind  of  ecclesiastical 
government  was  to  be  continued  or  established  in  Scotland.  The  coun- 
ties of  Ayr,  Renfrew,  Lanark,  and  Dumfries,  were  peculiarly  turbulent. 
In  these  districts  the  Covenanters  abounded,  and  those  who  were  chiefly 
prosecuted  by  the  Government  had  been  connected  with  them,  or  kept 
them  in  a  continual  ferment  and  agitation.  In  particular,  that  party  of 
the  Presbyterians  known  by  the  name  of  Cameronians  or  hill  men,  from 
the  well-known  preacher  Richard  Cameron,  who  was  killed  in  an  action 
with  the  royal  troops,  were  numerous,  composed  of  the  misled  and  ig- 
norant peasantry,  under  the  guidance  of  field  preachers.  The  Came- 
ronians were  peculiarly  sullen  and  dangerous,  and  asserted  to  the  letter 
the  principles  of  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant.  Taking  advantage 
of  the  excitement  of  the  period,  and  of  the  unsettled  state  of  the  Go- 
vernment, on  Christmas-day  1688  a  body  of  ninety  of  them  attacked 
the  Episcopal  incumbents  of  Cumnock  and  of  Auchinlock,  and  peram- 
bulated the  wholo  county  insulting  the  parochial  clergy.  On  the  .same 
day  similar  riotous  proceedings  commenced  in  the  county  of  Dunbar 
ton,  and  gross  outrages  were  committed  in  the  counties  already  men- 
tioned. "  Their  method  in  general,"  says  a  venerable  writer,  "  was  to 
a— emblo  in  the  night-time  in  armed  bodies,  hero  and  there,  and  to 
force  themselves  in  any  man's  house  against  whom  they  had  any  private 
quarrel  ;  but  particularly  those  of  the  clergy,  whom  they  plundered 
and  abused  afl   they  pleased.      They  then   carried    the  minister  t"  the 

•  Guthrie,  vol.  x.  p.  808,  ."»04. 


64  HISTORY  OF  THE 

churchyard,  or  to  some  other  public  place  of  the  town  or  village,  and 
there,  with  all  the  personal  abuse  they  could  think  of,  exposed  him  as  a 
condemned  malefactor,  giving  him  a  strict  charge,  under  the  severest 
penalties,  never  to  preach  any  more,  but  to  remove  himself  and  family 
immediately  ;  and,  for  a  conclusion  of  their  wanton  malice,  they  never 
omitted  to  tear  their  gowns  over  their  heads,  and  rend  them  in  pieces, 
or  throw  them  into  the  flames.    When  they  had  done  with  the  poor  men 
themselves,  they  locked  the  kirk  doors,  and  carried  the  keys  with  them. 
And  when  any  minister  was  so  hardy  as  to  expostulate  with  them,  or 
ask  them  by  what  rule,  either  of  religion  or  of  morality,  they  could 
justify  such  excesses,  they  answered,  By  the  rule  and  law  of  the  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant,  by  which  they  were  bound  to  extirpate  prelacy,  and 
bring  malignants  to  condign  punishment ."*    Dr  Cook,  in  referring  to  this 
desolating  progress  of  the  Cameronians,  volunteers  the  following  singu- 
lar explanation  of  their  conduct,  in  which  he  persists  in  the  face  of  all 
evidence,  and  of  his  own  recorded  opinions,  in  insinuating  that  the 
Presbyterians  had  been  persecuted  by  the  Church.    "  Improper  as  were 
these  excesses,  how  light  were  they  when  put  in  the  balance  against  the 
enormities  which  under  Prelacy  had  been  perpetuated?    For  no  per- 
sonal violence,  no  tortures,  no  murders,  disgraced  a  sect  which  had  been 
borne  down  with  every  species  of  outrage.     These  incidental  ebullitions 
of  popular  sentiment  had  no  connection  with  the  general  arrangements 
of  the  Presbyterians,  who  prudently  considered  what  steps  should  be 
taken  to  regain  their  influence,  and  to  conjoin  with  the  accession  of  the 
new  sovereign  the  settlement  of  their  church,  "t     It  thus  appears,  ac- 
cording to  Dr  Cook's  view  of  the  matter,  that  because  sundry  enormi- 
ties were  inflicted  on  men  in  open  rebellion  "  under  Prelacy,"  namely, 
when  the  Episcopal  Church  was  the  legal  and  authorized  ecclesiastical 
establishment  of  Scotland,  the  said  Church  is  responsible  for  these  al- 
leged acts  of  cruelty — an  inference  or  conclusion  completely  at  variance 
with  historical  facts.     What  had  the  Church  to  do  with  the  acts  and 
the  proceedings  of  the  Duke  of  Lauderdale,  and  the  other  noblemen 
and  gentlemen  connected  with  the  Scottish  executive  Government  ?  Did 
Graham  of  Claverhouse  perambulate  the  disaffected  districts  with  a 

•  Skinner's  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii.  p.  217. 
f  Cook's  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  from  the  Reformation  to  the  Revolu- 
tion, vol.  iii.  p.  438,  439. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  6 J 

commission  in  his  pocket,  signed  by  a  Scottish  prelate  as  his  authorita- 
tive missive  I 

Among  the  various  pamphlets  illustrative  of  the  history  of  this  me- 
morable era,  there  is  one  entitled  "  An  Account  of  the  Persecution  of 
the  Church  in  Scotland,  in  several  Letters."*  On  the  back  of  the  title- 
page  is  the  following  note  in  MS. — "  The  author  of  the  Life  of  the 
reverend  and  learned  Mr  John  Sage,  printed  at  London  in  1714,  says 
that  Mr  Sage  was  the  author  of  the  second  and  third  letters,  that  the 
first  was  written  by  an  English  clergyman,  Mr  Thomas  Merer,  Chap- 
lain to  an  English  Regiment  lying  at  Glasgow,  and  that  the  fourth  let- 
ter was  written  by  the  great  and  learned  Dr  Monro,"  who  is  already 
mentioned  as  Principal  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and  Bishop 
elect  of  Argyle  when  the  Revolution  took  place.  Of  Sage  much  re- 
mains to  be  said  in  the  sequel.  He  was  one  of  the  two  first  post -Revolu- 
tion Bishops  of  the  present  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  and  was  one  of 
the  ministers  of  Glasgow  before  1G88.  His  statements,  therefore,  respect- 
ing the  sufferings  of  the  clergy  in  the  district  in  which  he  resided  are 
valuable  and  conclusive. 

But  we  shall  first  glance  generally  at  the  letter  ascribed  to  Mr  Morer, 
who  was  an  eye-witness  of  those  tumults  and  disorders. — "  The  Church 
of  Scotland,"  says  he,  "is  at  this  time  under  the  claw  of  an  enraged 
lion  ;  Episcopacy  abolished,  and  its  revenues  alienated ;  the  clergy 
routed, — some  by  a  form  of  sentence,  and  others  by  violence  and  popu- 
lar fury;  their  persons  and  families  abused,  their  houses  ransacked, 
with  many  other  injuries  and  indignities  done  them  which  I  forbear 
naming,  that  I  may  not  martyr  your  Lordship's  patience  by  the  bare 
recital  of  them.  My  post  in  the  Army  has  carried  me  into  many  place  B 
of  this  kingdom,  and  has  given  me  many  opportunities  to  see  and  lament 
their  condition.  The  occasion  of  all  these  disasters  is  the  prevailing 
strength  of  the  Cameronian  party,  a  faction  here  taking  its  name  from 
one  Cameron,  formerly  their  leader,   who  was  slain  in  his  rebellion.  I 

•  London,  printed  for  S.  Cook,  1700.    Advocates'  Library,  Edinburgh.    A  Series 

of  Letters  Addressed  to  a  Nobleman. 

\  Bishop  Bags  obsen  es  of  this  man — "  One  Mr  Richard  Cameron,  who,  being  son** 
tune  ■ehoolmaster  of  Falkland  [in  Fife],  and  turned  oat  of  that  employment  fin"  insuf- 
ficiency! betook  himself  to  the  trade  of  Held  preaching,  became  wonderfully  admired 
of  the  giddy  multitude,  was  killed  at  last  in  open  rebellion  at  Airds  Moss,  sad 

commenced  martyr,  OMIO  1680." — Letter  II.  J)   H. 

i: 


Qti  HISTORY  OF  THE 

They  are  a  sort  of  rigid  Presbyterians,  or  rather  Fifth  Monarchy  Men, 
valuing  neither  King  William  nor  King  James  any  further  than  as 
these  princes  happen  to  please  them.  Some  designing  heads  in  the 
Council  and  Parliament  have  made  use  of  these  men's  hands  to  bring 
their  ends  about,  whose  weakness  always  was  too  discernible.  The 
Church  party,  both  for  number  and  quality,  were  predominant  in  this 
nation,  the  nobles  and  gentry  are  generally  episcopal,  and  so  the  peo- 
ple, especially  northward,  where  to  my  own  knowledge  they  are  so  well 
affected,  that  it  would  be  no  hard  task  to  bring  them  cultui  et  ritibus 
cum  Anglis  communibus  subscribere,  as  Buchanan  saith  the  ancient  Scots 
did  when  they  stood  in  fear  of  the  French,  and  desired  England's  as- 
sistance against  them.  My  frequent  reading  of  our  Service  and  preach- 
ing in  their  churches  to  the  audience's  satisfaction,  the  caresses  of  the 
gentry,  and  respect  of  the  ordinary  people  whenever  I  met  them,  infer 
so  much,  and  plainly  discover  that  they  neither  abhorred  me  nor  my 
way  of  religion.  At  Perth  I  was  readily  admitted  into  the  church  and 
pulpit,  though  the  magistrates  refused  the  same  favour  to  the  Lord 
Cardross,  a  Privy  Councillor,  and  the  Lord  Argyll,  in  behalf  of  two 
Cameronian  preachers.  Even  at  Edinburgh  the  faction  were  so  weak 
that  they  were  forced  to  send  privately  to  the  West  for  assistance,  before 
they  durst  attempt  any  violence  against  the  regular  clergy;  but  the 
College  of  Justice  being  informed  of  their  coming,  armed  themselves 
and  their  friends,  and  so  were  secured,  both  they  and  their  ministers, 
until  an  order  was  obtained  for  laying  down  their  arms  again.  Indeed, 
at  Glasgow  the  faction  is  stronger,  and  this  town  may  be  said  to  be 
the  warmest  nest  of  the  Cameronians  ;  and  yet  to  my  knowledge  the 
most  considerable,  and  persons  of  the  best  quality,  are  very  well  affected, 
and  would  prevail,  were  it  not  for  the  assistance  of  the  mountaineers, 
which  the  malignants  have  sometimes  brought  privately  into  the  town 
to  assault  and  overawe  the  others." 

"  It  was  on  Christmas-day"  (1688),  says  Sage  "  that  day  which 
once  brought  good  tidings  of  great  joy  to  all  people — that  day  which 
once  was  celebrated  by  the  court  of  Heaven  itself,  and  whereon  they 
sang  glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  on  earth  peace  and  good  will  towards 

men that  day  which  the  whole  Christian  Church  has  since  solemnized 

for  the  greatest  mercy  that  ever  was  shown  to  sinful  mortals — that  day,  I 
say,  it  was  on  which  they  began  the  tragedy."     About  six  in  the  even- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  GT 

ing,  Mr  Russell,  minister  of  Govan  near  Glasgow,  was  assaulted  by  a 
number  of  men  in  his  own  house,  who  cruelly  beat  his  wife  and  daughter, 
carried  off  the  poor's  box,  and  threatened  him  with  more  severe  treat- 
ment if  he  ever  preached  in  the  parish  church  again.  A  party  of  en- 
thusiasts entered  the  house  of  Mr  Finnie,  minister  of  Cathcart.  This 
gentleman  was  from  home,  but  they  thrust  his  wife  and  four  or  five 
young  children  out  of  the  house,  threw  out  all  the  furniture,  and  were 
with  difficulty  persuaded  to  allow  her  to  shelter  herself  and  her  children 
from  the  inclemencies  of  the  weather  in  one  of  the  outhouses.  Mr  Boyd, 
minister  of  Carmunnock,  and  his  family  were  treated  in  a  similar  man- 
ner. Mr  Bell,  minister  of  Kilmarnock,  was  kept  some  hours  exposed 
to  the  cold  without  covering,  and  his  sexton  was  compelled  to  tear  his 
gown  in  pieces  from  his  shoulders.  This  gentleman  had  a  copy  of  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer,  which  they  burnt  in  the  market-place  of  the 
town,  declaring  that,  "  in  pursuance  of  the  Solemn  League  and  Cove- 
nant, they  were  now  to  burn  publicly  this  Book  of  Common  Prayer, 
which  is  full  of  superstition  and  idolatry."  Mr  Milne,  minister  of  Cad- 
der,  was  attacked  in  the  same  way  by  another  party  of  Presbyterians. 
Mr  White,  minister  of  Ballintrae  in  the  Bishopric  of  Galloway,  was 
struck  on  the  face  by  an  enthusiast  with  the  butt  of  a  musquet  in  his 
own  house  ;  another  made  a  thrust  at  him  with  a  sword,  and  it  was 
almost  providential  that  he  was  not  murdered ;  while  some  others  as- 
saulted his  wife,  then  far  advanced  in  pregnancy.  Mr  Brown,  minister 
of  Kells,  in  the  same  diocese,  then  residing  at  Newton,  was  carried  to 
the  market-place  at  four  in  the  morning,  and  tied  almost  naked  to  a 
cart,  in  which  position  he  would  have  certainly  died  if  he  had  not  re- 
ceived some  kindness  from  a  poor  woman. 

The  wife  of  Mr  Ross,  minister  of  Renfrew,  was  turned  out  of  her 
house  witli  a  helpless  infant  only  three  days  old.  The  family  of  Mr 
Guthrie,  minister  of  Keir,  were  all  expelled  from  his  house,  and  the 
furniture  thrown  out  after  them,  though  three  of  his  children  were  dan- 
gerously ill  of  fever  and  the  small-pox,  and  two  of  them  died  in  conse- 
quence <>t'  this  treatment.  A  party  of  them  assaulted  Mr  Skinner. 
minister  of  Dailly,  and  so  alarmed  his  daughter  that  she  was  thrown 
into  a  fever.  About  six  days  afterwards  they  returned  t<>  ransack  the 
house,  under  the  pretence  »>t'  looking  for  arms ;  and  their  appearance  bo 
greatly  excited  this  young  lady,  only  twenty  yean  oi  age,  that  she 


(38  HISTORY  OF  THE 

died,  frequently  repeating  among  her  last  words,  "  0  these  wicked 
men  will  murder  my  father."  Numbers  of  other  clergymen  were  simi- 
larly treated  in  the  western  counties,  or  rabbled  out,  as  it  was  elegantly 
termed  in  the  phraseology  of  the  Cameronians. 

Monro  of  Fouiis,  Bart.,  a  gentleman  of  an  ancient  family,  and  a  great 
leader  among  the  Presbyterians,  seeing  a  clergyman  walking  in  his 
gown  in  the  Parliament  Square,  Edinburgh,  pointed  towards  him,  and 
exclaimed,  "  Behold,  Antichrist !  Will  no  one  tear  the  gown  from  him? ' 
The  clergyman  replied,  "  Sir,  you  are  the  Beast," — a  retort  which  was 
applicable  to  his  personal  appearance,  and  caused  a  laugh  from  the 
spectators.  The  incumbent  of  Lasswade,  about  five  miles  from  Edin- 
burgh, was  assaulted  half  way  between  his  house  and  that  city,  received 
ten  or  twelve  wounds  in  his  body,  and  was  otherwise  injured  in  the  most 
shameful  manner.  The  incumbents  of  the  parishes  of  Cumnock,  Auch- 
inleck,  Mauchline,  Galston,  Riccarton,  and  Tarbolton,  were  all  insulted 
in  most  ferocious  language,  and  threatened  with  death  if  they  continued 
to  officiate. 

A  party  of  armed  Cameronians  surrounded  the  house  of  Mr  Stirling, 
minister  of  Baldernock,  and  alarmed  his  wife  and  servants,  her  hus- 
band being  from  home,  telling  the  former  that  they  would. cut  off  her 
Popish  nose,  and  using  the  most  indecent  language.  Another  party  as- 
saulted Mr  Duncan,  minister  of  Kilpatrick  Easter,  struck  and  abused 
him,  broke  his  furniture,  and  thrust  him  and  his  family  out  of  doors.* 
The  incumbents  of  Evandale,  Rutherglen,  Cumbernauld,  Barony  Pa- 
rish of  Glasgow,  and  numerous  other  parishes,  were  treated  in  a  similar 
manner  ;  and  in  the  city  of  Glasgow  the  clergy  were  in  hazard  of  their 
lives.t  It  is  attested  by  Fullarton,  afterwards  one  of  the  Scottish  Bishops, 
then  minister  of  Paisley,  that  all  the  clergy  of  that  Presbytery  were ' '  forced 
for  the  safety  of  their  lives  to  flee  from  their  several  habitations,"  and 
to  leave  their  wives  and  children  exposed  to  the  fury  of  the  fanatical 
assailants.  The  incumbents  of  the  Presbytery  of  Irvine  declare  that 
"all  their  houses  have  been  invaded  by  armed  men,  not  only  in  the 
day-time,  but  for  the  most  part  under  silence  of  night,  and  so  many  mi- 

*  "  The  Case  of  the  present  Afflicted  Clergy  in  Scotland  truly  represented ;  to 
which  is  added  for  probation  the  Attestation  of  many  unexceptionable  Witnesses  to 
every  particular."    London,  4to.  1690,  p.  4. 

"j"   Case,  ut  supra,  p.  43. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  69 

nisters  as  did  not  secretly  escape  were  most  disgracefully  taken  to  the 
market  crosses  and  other  public  places,  and  their  gowns  torn  in  pieces. 
They  have  also  turned  many  of  their  wives  and  children  out  of  doors, 
and  are  still  proceeding  to  do  so  to  others,  exposing  them  to  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  winter  cold,  and  to  perish  for  want  of  bread,  when  the 
ministers  themselves  durst  not  come  near  them  for  relief."  This  is  at- 
tested by  Charles  Littlejohn,  minister  of  Largs,  and  Alexander  Laing, 
minister  of  Stewarton. 

In  a  well-known  and  valuable  work  is  the  following  notice,  the  writer 
of  which  is  a  Presbyterian  : — "  Of  iEneas  Morison,  the  last  Episcopal 
minister  of  Con  tin  in  Ross-shire,  many  anecdotes  are  related,  illustra- 
tive of  his  wit  and  benevolence.  This  excellent  man  suffered  very  harsh 
treatment  for  refusing  to  conform  to  Presbytery.  He  was  rudely  eject- 
ed from  his  own  (parish)  church,  to  which  he  had  fled  as  a  sanctuary, 
and  he  closed  a  long,  honourable,  and  useful  life  in  great  indigence."* 

It  was  the  usual  procedure  of  the  armed  Cameronians  and  others,  be- 
sides the  personal  injuries  they  inflicted  on  the  clergy,  and  the  gross 
insults  they  heaped  upon  them,  to  rifle  their  houses,  break  their  furni- 
ture, and  in  many  cases  to  carry  off  what  money  they  found.  Their 
stipends  were  refused  to  be  paid  to  them,  and  the  parish  churches  were 
in  many  instances  occupied  by  the  Presbyterian  preachers  before  it 
was  known  whether  that  system  was  the  form  of  polity  to  be  establish- 
ed bylaw.  These  were  the  persecutions  mentioned  by  Bishop  Rose  in 
London,  when  the  clergy  in  vain  requested  protection,  though  they 
were  still  the  legal  incumbents.  Their  common  saying,  when  any  of  the 
clergy  fell  into  their  hands,  was — "  Strip  the  curate,"  an  appellation 
which  they  considered  a  peculiar  disgrace,  and  they  consequently  ap- 
plied it  to  all  the  episcopal  incumbents.  The  tearing  and  destroying 
of  the  gowns  they  called  their  testimony  against  Episcopacy.  Nearly 
three  hundred  clergymen  were  turned  out  of  their  benefices  by  these 
Cameronians  and  others  in  the  west  and  south-west  of  Scotland.!  In 
a  sermon  before  the  first  Presbyterian  (General  Assembly  held  after 
the  Revolution,  a  preacher  named  Meldrum  offered  to  "  justify  the 
barbarities  of  the  rabble,  and  the  ill  usage  which  the  episcopal  clergy 

•  New  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland — Ron  and  Cromarty,  p   -'■'•7. 
f   Perth  MSB.  Hospital  !>'•    i  tors,  Advocates   Library,  Edinburgh. 


70  HISTORY  OF  THE 

met  with,  alleging  that  their  errors,  vices,  and  scaudals,  deserve  no 
hetter  at  the  people's  hands."  This  statement  is  made  in  a  pamphlet 
of  the  time,*  and  consequently  it  nullifies  Dr  Cook's  assertion  that  the 
Presbyterians  in  general  had  no  concern  in  these  atrocities.  "  There 
was  a  formed  design,"  says  the  author  of  this  valuable  pamphlet,  "  of 
disgracing  the  episcopal  clergy,  and  of  rendering  them  infamous  for 
immorality,  but  it  will  be  much  for  their  advantage,  that  after  earnest 
desires  and  endeavours  to  blacken  them,  there  was  little  or  nothing 
made  out  against  them.  When  any  real  scandals  were  found  they  were 
loudly  talked  of,  publicly  proclaimed,  and  laid  to  the  charge  of  the 
Yviiole  party,  as  if  it  were  a  matter  extraordinary  to  find  some  unworthy- 
persons  among  nine  hundred  or  a  thousand." 

It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  the  instances  of  persecution  endured  by 
the  episcopal  clergy  of  Scotland  immediately  after  the  Revolution, 
during  the  winter  of  1688-9,  but  to  insert  more  would  far  exceed  the 
limits  of  the  present  volume.  Those  excesses  were  the  fruits  of  the 
opinions  inculcated  on  the  peasantry  by  the  more  violent  of  the  Presby- 
terian preachers,  of  which  we  have  numerous  specimens  in  their  printed 
books.  In  the  "  Hind  let  Loose,"  Mr  Shields  thus  syllogistically  de- 
livers himself: — "  A  prelate's  depute  is  no  minister  ;  a  curate  is  a  pre- 
late's depute  ;  ergo,  that  a  prelate's  depute  is  no  minister  of  Christ,  I 
prove  not  only  from  that,  that  a  prelate,  qua  talis,  is  not  a  servant  of 
Christ,  but  an  enemy,  and  therefore  cannot  confer  upon  another  that 
disfnitv  to  be  Christ's  servant."  We  are  told  that  "never  can  it  be  in- 
stanced  these  twenty -seven  years  [from  1660  to  1687],  that  the  curates 
have  brought  one  soul  to  Christ,  but  many  instances  may  be  given  of 
their  murdering  souls  ;  hence  those  who  cannot  but  be  soul-murderers 
may  not  be  heard  or  entertained  as  soul-physicians,  and  the  curates 
cannot  but  be  soul- murderers."  We  are  accordingly  informed  that 
"  the  meetings  of  the  curates  for  administration  of  ordinances  in  their 
way  the  Lord  hates,  and  hath  signally  forsaken  ;  therefore  we  should 
hate  and  forsake  them."  And  to  give  only  one  more  quotation  from 
this  precious  record  of  hatred,  fanaticism,  and  intolerance,  the  "  hear- 
ing of  curates  reductively  involves  us  under  the  guilt  of  idolatry  and 
breach  of  the  second  commandment,  therefore  we  ought  not  to  Jet  them 

*   An  Historical  Relation  of  the  late  Presbyterian  General  Assembly  held  at  Edin- 
burgh, 1691,  4to.  London,  p.  61. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  71 

dwell  in  the  land,  lest  they  make  us  sin  ;  we  should  destroy  their  very 
names  out  of  the  place"  Another  of  them,  Frazer  of  Brae,  in  a  per- 
formance entitled  "  Prelacy  an  Idol,"  declares—"  I  fear  all  bairns  that 
are  baptized  by  the  curates  are  the  children  of  whoredom." 

These  passages  show  the  spirit  fostered  and  encouraged  by  the  Pres- 
byterian ministers  against  the  Episcopal  clergy  of  Scotland  at  the  Re- 
volution, and  the  treatment  they  encountered  from  a  people  stirred  up 
by  their  perverted  interpretations*  of  Scripture  and  infamous  assertions. 
As  of  all  hatreds  a  religious  hatred  is  the  most  implacable,  so  of  all  per- 
secutions that  dictated  by  fanaticism  is  the  most  dangerous  and  relent- 
less. The  Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland  was  never  guilty  of  persecu- 
tion. It  is  again  repeated  that  the  prosecutions  of  the  Covenanters  and 
others  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.  were  state  or  government  prosecutions, 
occasioned  by  their  own  sullen  conduct,  and  their  sufferings,  as  they  are 
called,  were  considered  as  punishments  for  the  crimes  which  the  Govern- 
ment and  the  law  declared  they  had  committed.  It  is  no  part  of  the  de- 
sign of  the  present  work  either  to  explain,  defend,  or  censure  the  Govern- 
ment of  that  period,  or  to  discuss  the  wisdom  of  the  measures  which 
were  deemed  expedient  to  be  adopted  against  the  thousands  of  armed 
zealots,  who  contrived  to  keep  the  country  in  a  ferment  for  some  years. 
A  defence  of  it  was  written  by  Sir  George  Mackenzie,  the  Lord  Advo- 
cate, one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  of  his  time  in  Scotland.  It  may  be 
-imply  observed,  that  the  statement  that  the  cause  of  what  is  called  civil 
and  religious  liberty  was  maintained  by  the  Presbyterians  of  Scotland, 
is  altogether  fallacious,  contrary  to  fact  and  to  historical  evidence,  and  is 
refuted  by  the  sentiments,  both  political  and  ecclesiastical,  which  they 
maintained,  and  the  conduct  they  exhibited. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  many  pamphlet-  and  other  productions 
appeared  at  the  time  from  both  parties,  denouncing  tin-  clergy,  and 
plaining  or  defending  on  the  part  of  the  triumphant  Presbyterians. 
The  persecution  endur<  d  by  the  Episcopal  clergy  was  bo  undeniable,  that 
ire  fuel  some  of  the  leading  Presbyterian  ministers  of  that  day  attempting 
to  throw  the  whole  blame  upon  the  Cameronians,  who,  it  i-  said  by  Mr 
Gilbert  Rule,  "stood  at  a  distanoe  from  the  sober  Presbyterians,*' 
although  even  he  insinuates  that  the  "zealous  party, "  ;i-  hecalls  them, 
made  it  "  their  work  only  to  deprive,  and  not  to  murder,  the  Episcopal 
ministers/1  while  he  inconsist*  ntly,  in  his  defence  of  the  Pi         erians 


72  HISTORY  OF  THE 

written  by  order  of  the  General  Assembly,  states  that  the  Cameronians 
were  a  people  rendered  mad.  The  general  topic  of  a  work  written  by 
this  same  Mr  Gilbert  Rule,  who  became  one  of  the  Presbyterian  mini- 
sters of  Edinburgh  at  the  Revolution,  is  to  prove  that  the  Cameron- 
ians are  not  Presbyterians.  This  work  is  entitled  "  A  Vindication  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland,"  and  is  an  answer  to  five  productions  on  the 
side  of  the  Episcopal  clergy.  It  was  answered  by  the  learned  Dr  Alex- 
ander Monro,  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  in  a  valuable  essay, 
ontitled  "  An  Apology  for  the  Clergy  of  Scotland,  chiefly  opposed  to 
Censures,  Calumnies,  and  Accusations  of  a  late  Presbyterian  Vindicator, 
in  a  Letter  to  a  Friend."  Some  passages  of  this  reply  are  worthy  of 
the  reader's  perusal. 

"  All  along  he  [Rule]  seems  to  disown  the  Cameronians  as  Presby- 
terians, or  as  men  not  of  their  communion.  At  other  times  he  acknow- 
ledges that  they  are  zealous  godly  men,  and  if  he  proves  that  the  bar- 
barities committed  upon  the  clergy  were  not  committed  by  sober  and 
intelligent  Presbyterians,  he  thinks  the  Presbyterians  are  sufficiently 
vindicated  from  all  imputations  of  cruelty  and  violence  ;  and,  therefore, 
unless  we  prove  them  sober  and  intelligent  he  thinks  all  our  complaints 
of  the  outrage  and  tumults  of  the  Presbyterians  are  vain  and  imperti- 
nent. But  are  not  the  Cameronians  Presbyterians  ?  To  what  commu- 
nion, then,  do  they  belong  ?  Have  they  any  principles,  discipline,  or 
worship,  different  from  the  Presbyterians  ?  Were  not  their  leading  men 
lately  owned  and  received  by  the  pretended  General  Assembly,  without 
retracting  any  articles  of  doctrine,  or  disowning  any  of  their  practices 
that  they  so  zealously  recommended  to  their  followers  in  the  West  ? 
This  is  a  very  pleasant  fancy,  that  the  author  should  endeavour  to  hide 
the  tumults  and  insurrections  of  that  party  by  changing  the  name  of 
Presbyterian  into  Cameronian. — We  know  no  opinions  that  Mr  Came- 
ron* propagated  or  entertained  which  were  peculiar  to  himself.     He 

*  Richard  Cameron,  the  field  preacher,  killed  in  rebellion  already  noticed.  It  is 
proper  to  notice,  that  there  is  a  sect  of  Presbyterian  Dissenters  in  Scotland,  whose 
founders  would  not  conform  to  the  Presbyterian  Establishment  at  the  Revolution, 
popularly  called  Cameronians,  though  the  title  they  themselves  adopt  is  the  Reformed 
Presbyterian  Church  or  Synod.  I  am  not  aware  of  any  peculiarity  which  distinguishes 
them  from  the  Establishment  in  point  of  doctrine  or  mode  of  worship.  It  is  said  that 
they  contend  for  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  for  the  abolition  of  lay  patronago. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  C11URCII.  73 

followed  most  closely  and  ingeniously  the  hypothesis  of  the  old  and  zeal- 
ous Presbyterians,  and  the  plain  truth  is,  Mr  Cameron  was  not  a  man 
very  proper  to  be  the  founder  of  a  new  sect.  He  built  upon  the  notions 
he  was  taught  by  his  brethren,  and  the  Presbyterians  are  obliged  for 
this  word  Cameronian  to  the  Episcopal  clergy,  who  mean  no  more  by 
this  word  than  a  Presbyterian  ivhose  zeal  for  his  faction  (after  the  ex- 
ample of  Mr  Cameron)  over  drives  Mm  violently  beyond  all  bounds  of 
discretion.  The  word  Presbyterian  is  known  in  England,  but  the  word 
Cameronian  is  not,  and  therefore  this  distinction  is  a  very  plausible  de- 
fence in  England  to  disprove  all  the  complaints  made  by  the  Episcopal 
clergy,  as  if  the  Cameronians  were  a  new  species  of  schismatics  different 
from  the  Presbyterians,  and  that  we  had  three  considerable  divisions  of 
Christians  in  Scotland — the  Episcopal  party,  the  Presbyterians,  and  the 
Cameronians,  whereas  indeed  we  know  of  none  but  two,  and  the  Came- 
ronians are  those  Presbyterians  who  have  studied  their  own  principles 
most  accurately,  and  drawn  from  them  those  principles  and  practical 
conclusions  which  they  naturally  and  necessarily  yield.  The  whole  nation 
knows  that  those  Presbyterians  whom  he  nick-names  Covenanters  did 
assert  their  Presbyterian  principles  when  others  were  very  silent,  and 
upon  this  they  value  themselves  as  the  most  active,  pious,  and  ingenious 
of  the  whole  party,  who  differ  not  from  others  in  their  principles,  but  do 
exceed  some  of  their  brethren  in  higher  degrees  of  zeal  and  sincerity  to 
promote  the  interest  of  their  combination.  What  is  it  that  Cameron- 
ians have  done  that  they  might  not  have  done  upon  Presbyterian  prin- 
ciples ?  What  is  there  in  the  most  barbarous  rabbling  of  the  clergy  in- 
consistent with  the  Presbyterian  principles?  What  is  there  in  their 
tumultuous  rabblings  that  the  Presbyterians  can  disown  ? 

"  I  think  the  author  is  to  blame  for  saying  that  the  Cameronians  are 
not  intelligent,  for  certainly  they  took  their  measures  by  the  best  direc- 
tions that  could  be  bad,  and  their  agents  gave  them  exact  intelligence 

rod  some  other  matters  which  the  mass  of  the  Presbyterians  in  Scotland  (](»  Dot  ac- 
knowledge. Thej  were  furious  opponents  of  the  Union,  and  one  of  their  great  ob- 
jectionitoit  was  thai  the  English  Bishops  were  acknowledged  in  the  Treatj  as  Lords 
Spiritual  They  are  now  a  quiet  and  inoffensiTS  sect,  bigoted  enough  in  their  own 
way, and  obstinately  wedded  in  their  own  opinions.  Their  numbers  are  rery  limited, 
ami  in  Is.jj  consisted  of  what  they  call  Bu  Presbyteries,  with  between  thirty  and 
forty  congregations. 


74  HISTORY  OF  THE 

of  what  they  might  venture  upon,  and  when,  accordingly,  a  company  of 
wicked  incendiaries,  who  had  declared  war  against  King  Charles  the 
Second,  when  he  governed  the  nation  by  those  laws  that  were  made  in 
times  of  peace  by  the  most  unanimous  and  solemn  Parliaments  that 
ever  the  nation  had,  and  who  declared  in  their  seditious  pamphlets  and 
papers  that  he  had  forfeited  all  right  to  the  crown,  because,  forsooth,  he 
had  broken  their  Covenant — I  say,  they  were  the  men  who  at  the  begin- 
ning of  this  Revolution  (as  they  were  directed)  fell  violently  upon  the 
clergy,  and  drove  them  from  their  houses  and  residences,  to  the  scandal 
of  Christianity,  and  reproach  of  our  nation  ;  and  this  is  not  at  all  to  be 
imputed  to  the  casual  efforts  of  passion  or  revenge,  but  to  an  uniform  com- 
bination of  the  whole  society :  and  this  appears,  because  the  clergy 
were  not  generally  rabbled  by  their  own  parishioners,  but  by  those  fire- 
brands who  concerted  their  measures  with  their  own  societies,  and  did 
nothing  of  that  nature  without  advice  and  directions.  The  cruelties 
the  clergy  met  with  proceed  from  a  League  and  Covenant  amongst 
their  enemies,  since  those  mischiefs  did  not  light  upon  a  few  of  the 
clergy,  who  might  possibly  have  provoked  their  parishioners  by  some  in- 
discretions, but  upon  the  ichole  order,  even  upon  such  (who,  mistaking 
the  true  objects  of  pity  and  compassion)  as  had  frequently  interposed 
with  their  superiors  to  mitigate  the  legal  penalties  against  the  Noncon- 
formists. Add  to  this,  that  several  of  the  gentry  in  the  West,  who  were 
better  natured,  and  had  better  principles  than  their  Presbyterian  neigh- 
bours, were  very  forward  to  resent  the  affronts  and  indignities  done  to 
the  clergy,  until  they  understood  that  the  tide  had  risen  too  high  to  be 
resisted,  and  that  such  of  the  Presbyterians  as  were  then  out  of  the  na- 
tion, and  directed  the  methods  that  the  rabblers  were  to  take,  would 
rigorously  resent  the  least  stop  put  to  their  career.  Does  this  author 
[Gilbert  Rule]  think  that  the  present  generation  knows  nothing  of  the 
history  of  Presbyterians  ?  That  all  the  British  tragedies  from  the  year 
1 638  are  buried  in  eternal  silence  ?  That  all  the  monuments  of  their 
daring  insolence  are  extinct  ?  That  the  Acts  of  the  General  Assembly 
are  lost  ?  That  the  villanies  of  the  Presbyterians  are  recorded  nowhere  ? 
Why,  then,  does  he  think  to  impose  upon  the  world  by  telling  us  that, 
iudeed,  they  are  very  sorry  for  the  tumults  that  happened  in  the  West, 
but  that  the  Presbyterians  were  no  actors  in  these  disorders?" 

The  following  passages  are  so  applicable  to  the  present  times  that  no 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  (0 

apology  is  necessary  for  transferring  them  to  these  pages.  "  The  Pres- 
byterians in  Scotland,"  says  Dr  Monro,  "  plead  for  their  national,  clas- 
sical, spiritual  power,  independent  upon  kings.  They  are  generally 
blinded  with  this  fatal  prejudice,  an  evidence  of  their  incurable  enthu- 
siasm, that  they  think  no  man  can  act  against  them  but  he  immediate- 
ly acts  against  the  light  of  his  own  conscience.  They  take  it  for  granted 
that  their  way  is  the  only  true  religion, — that  it  is  plainly  revealed, — 
and  that  they  give  greater  evidences  of  piety  and  religion  than  any  other 
society  of  Christians  on  earth  ;  and  if  you  do  not  believe  this  presently, 
without  examination,  you  are  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God,  nay,  you 
are  alienated  from  the  life  of  God.  Hence  it  is  that  the  Presbyterians 
conclude  that  whatever  is  done  against  their  party  is  done  rather  against 
the  light  and  conviction  of  their  opponents,  than  the  petulance  and  va- 
nity of  their  own  fraternity,  and  therefore  they  insinuate  upon  all  oc- 
casions, that  all  reasonings  against  them  proceed  from  profanity  and 
atheism,  or  from  men  void  of  all  principles  and  religion.  You  may  as 
easily  reason  a  bedlamite  out  of  his  fancied  honours  and  principalities, 
as  persuade  any  of  their  disciples  that  they  are  in  error  ;  and  this  they 
owe  to  their  teachers,  who  tyrannise  over  their  belief  as  imperiously  as 
the  cruel  Brahmins  do  among  the  Indians." 

There  are  other  matters  discussed  in  this  rare  and  valuable  produc- 
tion which  must  not  be  omitted  in  the  present  chapter.  It  cannot  be 
denied  that,  in  addition  to  the  personal  injuries  and  persecutions  suffer- 
ed by  the  Episcopal  clergy  of  Scotland  at  the  Revolution,  their  charac- 
ters were  most  wantonly  aspersed,  and  all  manner  of  crimes  were  im- 
puted to  them.  It  was  not  only  falsely  alleged  that  the  people  were 
injured  by  the  clergy — that  they  rigorously  and  peevishly  pressed  con- 
formity— that  they  were  heterodox,  and  were  intruders,  because  they 
had  obtained  their  benefices  by  presentation  from  the  Legal  patron  and 
-•(illation  from  the  diocesan,  instead  of  being  popularly  elected,  but  they 

ware  charged  with  ignorance  and  gross  immorality.4     "  lam  acquaint- 

*  This  was  an  "M  practice  of  the  Presbyterians  in  Scotland,  who,  whenever  tli».'_v 
wanted  bo  excite  an  odium  against  the  Episcopal  clergy,  accused  them  of  all  mann  r 
of  crimes,  such  as  murder,  incest,  atheism,  profane  swearing,  th  The  Gene- 

ral A    i  mlily  of  Glasgow  in    1638   accused  all  the  Bishops  of  th<  .   and, 

will  it  be  behoved  in  the  nineteenth  century,  the  great,  the  learned,  the  virtu 
Archbishop  Bpottiswoode  of  Si  audit  \\  -  was  -] «  ciall)  singled  out  among  their  infa- 
mous char  i       i  ion  of  these  and  othci  facts  makes  the  blood  boil  ;it  tli^ 


76  HISTORY  OF  THE 

ed,"  says  Dr  Monro,  "  with  few  of  the  clergy  of  the  western  shires,  but  I 
am  informed  by  judicious  and  intelligent  men  that  generally  the  clergy  in 
those  shires  were  grave,  sober,  and  assiduous  in  the  work  of  the  mini- 
stry. As  for  the  scandalous  aspersions  cast  upon  the  clergy  by  the 
Western  Presbyterians,  it  is  certain  that  by  one  of  the  Vindicator's 
own  Rules*  we  ought  not  to  believe  them,  because  they  are  all  of  them 
of  a  party,  and  indeed  of  such  a  party  who,  from  their  first  appearance 
in  the  world,  placed  much  of  their  strength  in  reproaching  the  clergy. 
If  some  of  the  ministers  in  the  West  did  not  live  according  to  the  dig- 
nity of  their  characters,  we  ought  rather  all  of  us,  who  have  not  re- 
nounced our  baptism,  to  lament  rather  than  insult  and  upbraid  them 
with  it.  Indeed,  a  minister  whose  employment  is  to  fit  other  men  for 
eternal  life,  and  yet  lives  in  open  and  scandalous  opposition  to  his  rule,  is 
the  most  monstrous  thing  in  nature.  If  any  of  the  clergy  be  guilty  of  such 
things  as  are  clamorously  alleged  by  Presbyterians,  it  is  no  argument 
against  the  common  cause  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  the  apostolical 
succession  of  the  hierarchy  of  Bishop,  Priest,  and  Deacon,  continued 
from  the  days  of  the  Apostles  until  now.  We  have  had  late  instances 
of  the  Presbyterian  activity  against  the  reputation  of  the  clergy,  and 
no  man  could  escape  a  libel  that  enjoyed  a  comfortable  benefice.  No- 
thing could  have  made  the  Presbyterians  more  contemptible  than  this 
treacherous  and  sneaking  method  of  libelling,  when  it  is  visible  to  all 
men  that  those  scurrilous  papers  were  intended  for  no  more  than  to  ruin 
and  disgrace  the  most  innocent  and  deserving  men.  And  it  is  very  odd 
that  they  could  venture  to  blindfold  the  nation  by  this  baffled  and  hy- 
pocritical sham.  How  comes  it  that  the  clergy  in  the  AVest  are  repre- 
sented as  criminals,  when  they  dare  not  attack  the  clergy  in  the  North  ? 
The  reason  is  obvious.  The  people  in  the  West  date  their  conversion 
from  the  time  they  forbear  to  bear  the  curates,  and  they  think  them- 
selves bound  by  all  those  ties  and  solemn  covenants  to  ruin  and  dispa- 
rage those  limbs  of  Antichrist.  But  the  people  in  the  North  can  disco- 
ver no  such  beauty  in  their  Presbyterian  discipline  ;  they  love  and  ho- 
nour their  own  ministers,  they  hear  them  preach  the  articles  of  Christ- 

villanies,  as  the  Bishop  elect  [Dr  Monro]  of  Argyll  properly  calls  them,  of  the  Pres- 
byterians of  the  seventeenth  century.  The  same  infamous  conduct  was  pursued  at 
the  Revolution. 

*   A  witty  allusion  to  his  name — Gilbert  Rule. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  77 

ian  faith  and  true  and  solid  morals,  and  they  cannot  be  persuaded  but 
that  the  oracles  of  God  may  be  preached  without  affectation,  and  yet 
with  all  requisite  gravity  and  recollection."* 

"  But  it  is  necessary,"  says  Principal  Monro,  "  to  put  those  proud 
and  supercilious  men  in  mind  that  they  are  but  ordinary  mortals,  en- 
compassed about  with  the  same  infirmities  as  other  men,  and  that  they 
should  consult  the  Scriptures  and  the  Fathers  for  arguments,  rather  than 
the  Cameronian  zealots  in  the  western  shires.     I  know  not  a  more  un- 
blameable  company  of  men  upon  earth  than  the  Episcopal  clergy  of  Scot- 
land ;  nor  do  I  know  any  five  of  them  in  the  whole  nation  who  could 
not  undergo  the  severest  examination  used  in  the  Christian  Church  pre- 
paratory to  ordination.     God  will  clear  our  innocence  as  the  sun  in  his 
meridian  elevation,  and  I  hope  to  the  conviction  of  our  enemies,  that  in 
the  simplicity  of  our  souls  we  designed  the  reformation  of  sinners,  and 
that  we  look  upon  ourselves  as  dedicated  to  the  immediate  service  of 
God  ;  and  the  sooner  we  retire  into  our  consciences,  and  discover  the 
secret  springs  of  our  present  calamity,  the  sooner  will  our  heavenly 
Father  remove  the  marks  of  his  indignation.     There  is  no  argument  so 
proper  to  convince  the  ignorance  of  foolish  men  as  by  well-doing,  and 
though  we  should  not  be  so  successful  in  gaining  proselytes  in  the  midst 
of  a  crooked  and  perverse  generation,  yet  we  fortify  the  peace  and  tran- 
quillity of  our  consciences,  we  strengthen  ourselves  against  those  things 
that  are  most  terrible  to  flesh  and  blood,  we  '  rejoice  with  joy  unspeak 
able  and  full  of  glory,'  in  the  midst  of  all  calamities  and  reproaches  that 
are  cast  upon  us.    And  let  not  them  that  are  untouched  think  that  their 
brethren,  upon  whom  the  tower  in  Siloam  fell,  are  greater  sinners  than 
their  neighbours." 

*  Principal  Monro  says,  in  another  place,  that  the  Presbyterians  w  always  accused 
the  Episcopalians  that  their  sermons  were  cold,  and  dry,  and  moral  discourses,  and 
were  not  calculated  to  the  capacities  and  affections  of  the  people  as  t/whs  were  ;  and, 
therefore,  they  complied  so  much  with  the  genius  of  the  people  that  they  forgot  the 
majesty  of  religion,  and  the  distinction  between  things  sacred  and  profane.  Then' 
may  be  so  many  stories  added  of  their  abusive  distortions  of  the  Scriptures  with  au- 
thentie  attestation!,  that  it  were  their  wisdom  to  let  this  debate  fall.     For  preaching 

after   their  way  is   heroine  of  late  so  trifling  an  exercise,  that  no  man  could  perforin 
it  to  the  satisfaction  of  their  thorough-paced  disciples  but  be   thai  was  either  an 
traonlinary  hypocrite  or  well  advanced   in  madness;   and  whatever  nun   pretend  who 
have  considered  that  affair  superficially,  it   is  necessary  to  expose   that    absurd,   s<  n- 

sual,  and  ludicrous  -ret,  who  metamorphose  religion  and  tti  solemn  exercises  into 

theatrical  scenes." 


r?  o 


/b  HISTORY  OF  THE 

This  is  a  noble  and  eloquent  declaration,  coming  as  it  does  from  one 
of  the  most  learned  men  of  his  time  in  Scotland,  the  Principal  of  a 
University,  whose  respectability  of  character,  honour,  and  veracity, 
were  well  known  throughout  the  kingdom,  and  never  called  in  question. 
The  only  attack  on  Principal  Monro  is  found  in  the  Answer  to  the  Scotch 
Presbyterian  Eloquence,  written  by  George  Redpath,  alias  William 
Laick,  in  which  it  is  stated — "It  is  well-known  that  Mr  Monro,  commonly 
called  Dr  Monro,  a  mighty  agent  for  the  [Episcopal]  party,  and  one  of  their 
present  pamphleteers,  rode  several  years  in  the  Pope's  Guards — which 
methinks  looks  somewhat  strange  that  such  kind  of  men  should  be  the 
greatest  sticklers  for  the  party."  This  charge  was  probably  made  against 
the  Principal,  because  he  was  thought  to  have  some  concern  in  the  publica- 
tion of  the  famous  exposure  of  the  Presbyterians,  entitled  "  The  Scotch 
Presbyterian  Eloquence."  Principal  Monro,  in  a  postscript,  containing 
remarks  on  some  of  Redpath's  falsehoods  against  the  clergy  in  his  An- 
swer to  the  Scotch  Presbyterian  Eloquence,  thus  speaks  of  himself  in 
the  third  person  : — "lam  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  Doctor,  and 
he  says  so  little  of  him,  that  I  may  be  allowed  to  examine  it  particularly. 
First,  he  is  commonly  called  Dr  Monro,  and  the  meaning  of  this  is  one  of 
two,  either  a  fanatic  squeamishness  that  will  not  allow  the  title  of  Doc  ■ 
tor  to  any  clergyman,  or  an  insinuation  that  he  has  not  graduated  Doctor 
at  an  University.  If  the  first  be  intended,  it  is  but  a  piece  of  Quaker- 
ism ;  if  the  second  be  meant,  he  was  not  called  Doctor  till  the  month  of 
February  1682,  when  he  received  his  degree  in  the  Theological  School 
of  the  New  College  at  St  Andrews,  from  the  learned  Dr  Comrie,  then 
Vice-Chancellor  of  the  University.  Our  libeller  adds,  that  he  is  a  mighty 
agent  for  the  party.  If  he  has  any  good  qualities  to  recommend  him, 
that  of  a  good  agent  is  none  of  them.  And,  again,  he  is  represented  to 
be  one  of  the  Episcopal  pamphleteers.  I  do  not  know  what  he  means 
by  this,  unless  he  charges  him  with  being  the  author  of  the  Presbyterian 
Inquisition.  But  the  saddest  blow  against  the  Doctor  is  this,  that  it  is 
well  knoicn  he  rode  several  years  in  the  Pope's  Guards.  But  I  ask,  to 
whom  is  this  known  ?  To  the  Presbyterians  only,  who  know  all  secrets, 
and  discover  plots  in  the  world  of  the  moon  !  For  the  time  the  Doctor 
was  abroad  he  was  never  out  of  France  and  the  confines  of  it,  nor 
nearer  to  Rome  than  about  four  hundred  and  eighty  Italian  miles." 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  70 


CHAPTER  V. 


STATE  OF  PARTIES  IN  SCOTLAND  AT  THE  REVOLUTION,  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES 
AS   AFFECTING  THE  ESTABLISHED  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


The  Presbyterians,  in  their  attacks  against  the  Episcopal  Church, 
continually  assert  that  the  great  mass  of  the  people  were  in  favour  of 
their  system.  This  may  be  admitted  to  a  certain  extent  in  some  dis- 
tricts, but  there  is  abundant  evidence  to  prove  that  even  the  peasantry 
were  not  so  inimical  to  the  Church  as  an  establishment  as  is  commonly 
supposed.  In  the  "  Memoirs  of  John  Ker  of  Kersland,  Esq.,"  a  pro- 
minent Presbyterian  leader  of  the  time,  published  in  172G,  we  have  an 
analysis  of  the  three  parties  existing  in  Scotland  at  the  period  of  the 
Union,  whom  he  designates  the  "  Presbyterian,  Camcronian,  and  Episco- 
pal :" — and  of  the  last  he  says — "  The  Episcopal  party,  whose  princi- 
ples I  shall  not  describe,  farther  than  that  they  are  generally  in  the  Pre- 
tender's interest,  and  are  near  one  half  of  the  nation,  among  whom  arc 
to  be  reckoned  the  most  part  of  the  Highland  Clans,  whose  numbers, 
notwithstanding  their  late  misfortunes,  are  rather  increased  than  dimi- 
nished, for  the  commiseration  of  such,  who  with  their  families  have 
suffered  lately,  hath  brought  over  several  converts  to  that  side."* 

During  the  reign  of  James  II.  indulgences  or  tolerations  were  grant- 
ed to  all  Presbyterians,  the  Covenanters  and  Cameronians  excepted, 
who  denounced  those  licences  in  the  most  furious  manner.  This  same 
Mr  Ker  of  Kersland,  whose  brother  was  a  noted  leader  of  the  Cameron- 
ians, and  in  arms  against  the  (government,  thus  notice-  the  proceed 
ingsof  the  King  : — M  After  the  I  hike  of  Monmouth's  and  Argyll's  death. 

•   Memoirs,  |>.  16, 


80  HISTORY  OE  THE 

King  James,  supposing  he  was  firmly  established  on  the  throne,  en- 
deavoured to  restrain  the  penal  laws  against  Papists  and  Protestant 
Dissenters,  no  doubt  to  promote  the  Popish  interest ;  but  missing  his 
aim  in  Parliament,  for  the  Scots  strenuously  opposed  it,  he  in  1687 
granted  a  toleration  to  all  Papists  and  Dissenters  in  general,  whereupon 
the  Presbyterians  built  meeting-houses,  and  in  their  General  Assembly 
addressed  the  King  with  abundance  of  pretended  loyalty  and  allegiance, 
promising  inviolable  adherence  to  his  interest  to  the  last  drop  of  their 
blood,  which  how  well  they  performed  will  appear  in  the  following  his- 
tory."* 

Many  of  the  Presbyterians  took  advantage  of  the  indulgence,  as  it 
was  called,  and  not  only  preached  publicly,  but  formed  themselves  in 
their  own  way  into  judicatories,  as  they  designate  their  several  associat- 
ed meetings,  in  which  they  enacted  such  regulations  as  were  considered 
obligatory  on  themselves  as  a  religious  community  of  Dissenters.  After 
the  landing  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  they  met  in  a  kind  of  general  con- 
vention at  Edinburgh  in  January  1689,  and  sent  a  congratulatory 
address  to  the  future  King.  This  must  have  been  during  the  absence 
of  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  in  London.  About  this  time  they  also  re- 
vived their  Kirk- Sessions,  Presbyteries,  and  Provincial  Synods,  ac- 
cording to  their  own  notions,  but  so  low  had  they  fallen  as  a  party  that 
a  Presbyterian  authority  explicitly  states — "  The  scarcity  of  ministers 
was  great,  and  in  many  places  of  the  kingdom  a  sufficient  number 
could  not  be  found  to  constitute  a  synod,  far  less  to  constitute  particu- 
lar presbyteries."! 

It  is  already  stated  that  the  interview  between  King  William  and 
the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  decided  the  fate  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church  with  respect  to  its  legal  establishment.  Nevertheless,  the  Re- 
volution Government  had  not  interfered  in  Scottish  affairs.  On  the 
22d  of  January  1688-9,  the  English  Parliament  declared  their  throne 
vacant  by  the  abdication  of  King  James,  who  had  "  violated  the  fun- 
damental laws,  and  withdrawn  himself  out  of  the  kingdom."  On  the 
13th  of  February  a  deputation  from  both  Houses  of  Parliament  waited 
on  William  and  Mary,  with  a  resolution  for  their  public  proclamation 

*   Memoirs,  p.  10. 

f  Perth  MSS.  Advocates'  Library,  Edinburgh,  entitled  Hospital  Registers,  in  the 
handwriting  of  Mr  James  Scott,  one  of  the  Presbyterian  ministers  of  Perth. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  81 

as  "  King  and  Queen  of  England,  France,  and  Ireland,  to  hold  to  them 
during  their  joint  lives,  and  the  life  of  the  survivor  of  them  :"  the  suc- 
cession confined  to  the  heirs  of  the  body  of  Princess  Mary,  with  re- 
mainder to  her  sister  the  Princess  Anne  of  Denmark  and  her  descend- 
ants, and  to  the  descendants  of  William.  The  meeting  of  the  Scott;s!i 
Estates,  first  called  together  under  extraordinary  circumstances  on  the 
14th  of  March  1689,  was  "  turned  into  a  Parliament"  on  the  5th  day 
of  the  following  June,  and  as  that  meeting  has  uniformly  been  held  and 
recognised  as  a  legitimate  assembly  of  the  legislature,  its  acts  have 
obtained  a  place  in  the  chronological  series  of  the  records  of  the  Parlia- 
ments of  Scotland.  During  the  interval  between  the  meeting  of  the 
Estates  in  March  and  April,  and  the  Session  of  Parliament  in  June 
thereafter,  the  regulation  of  public  affairs  devolved  on  a  Committee  of 
Noblemen,  Barons,  and  Burgesses,  nominated  for  that  purpose  by  the 
Estates,  whose  sittings  commenced  on  the  29th  day  of  April,  and  were 
continued  to  the  23d  of  May. 

The  meeting  of  the  Estates  on  the  14th  of  March  was  convened  by 
circular  letters  from  the  Prince  of  Orange  to  "  the  Lords  of  the  Clergie 
and  Nobility,  and  to  the  Sheriffe  Clerks  for  the  severall  Shyres,  and  to 
the  Toune  Clerks  for  the  Royall  Burghs."  The  Archbishops  of  St  An- 
drews and  Glasgow,  and  the  Bishops  of  Edinburgh,  Dunkeld,  Moray, 
Ross,  Dunblane,  Orkney,  and  the  Isles,  were  present.*  In  the  letter 
addressed  to  the  Estates  by  the  Prince  of  Orange,  signed  William 
R.,  nothing  is  stated  respecting  the  establishment  of  Presbyterianism. 
The  first  act  of  importance  adopted  by  the  meeting  was  one  declaring 
it  to  be  a  free  and  lawful  convention  of  the  Estates.  The  macer  hav- 
ing intimated  that  a  person  was  in  attendance  with  a  letter  from  Kin 


i  r 
a 


•  The  Nobility  were  the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  who  was  constituted  President,  the 
Duke  of  Queensberry,  the  Marquises  of  Douglas  and  Atholl,  the  Farls  of  Argyll, 
Crawford,  Erroll,  MarUehal,  Sutherland,  Mar,  Morton,  Gleneairo,  Egtintou,  Cas- 

sillis,  Linlithgow,  Home,  Dunfermline,  Lauderdale,  Lothi;»n,  Airlie.  Callendar,  Levin, 
Annandale,  Pannuire,  Selkirk,   Twceddale,  Kincardine,   Balcarras,    Forfar,   Tana-, 

Dundonald,  Kintore;  Viscounts  Kenmure,  Arbuthnot,  Oxenfbrd,  Tarbet,  Dundee 
(Grahaneof  Clarerhouae );  Lords  Sinclair,  Elphinstone,  Lovat,  Ross,  Torphichen, 
Lindores,  Balmerino,  Blantyre,  Cardro*s,  Melville,  Forrester,  Bargany,  Dunk,  id, 
i;  lhavfii,  CarmicbaeL  Dufius,  Ilollo,  Ruthren,  Rutherford,  Bellenden,  Newark.  A 
curious  biography  could  be  written  of  some  of  those  personages.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  -mini,  rate  the  Commissioner!  for  the  oountiea  and  burghs. 

F 


82  HISTORY  OF  THE 

James,  he  was  called  in,  and  allowed  to  present  it,  but  the  letter  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  by  whom  they  were  assembled,  was  first  read  and  re- 
corded.   They  then  passed  the  act,  which  is  thus  expressed  : — "  For  as 
much  as  there  is  a  letter  from  King  James  the  Seventh  presented  to 
the  meeting  of  the  Estates,  they,  before  opening  thereof,  declare  and 
enact,  that  notwithstanding  any  thing  that  may  be  contained  in  that 
letter  for  dissolving  them,  or  impeding  their  procedure,  yet  that  they 
are  a  free  and  lawful  meeting  of  the  Estates,  and  will  continue  undis- 
solved until  they  settle  and  secure  the  Protestant  religion,  the  govern- 
ment, laws,  and  liberties  of  the  kingdom."*     The  Prelates  who  sub- 
scribed this  important  declaration  along  with  the  Nobility,  Barons,  and 
Burgesses,  were  the  Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  the  Bishops  of  Dunkeld, 
Moray,  Ross,  Dunblane,  the  Isles,  and  Orkney.!     The  letter  of  King 
James,  dated  on  board  the  St  Michael,  Is!  March  1689,  was  then  read, 
but  it  contained  no  order  for  dissolving  the  meeting  of  the  Estates,  and 
earnestly  enjoined  them  to  be  loyal,  at  the  same  time  threatening  punish- 
ment to  all  who  continued  disaffected  in  their  allegiance  after  the  last 
day  of  that  month — a  denouncement  which,  as  the  event  proved  in  his 
case,  was  utterly  harmless.     This  letter  is  not  recorded  in  the  Books  of 
the  Convention,  tut  it  is  still  preserved, J  and  the  manner  of  its  recep- 
tion by  the  Estates  was  significant  of  their  future  proceedings.     King 
James  was  at  that  moment  their  rightful  and  undoubted  sovereign  ;  with 
what  had  taken  place  in  England,  respecting  the  acknowledgment  of 
the  Prince  of  Orange  as  King,  the  Scottish  people  as  an  independent 
nation,  and  as  possessing  their  own  legislature,  had  no  concern  ;  and 
yet  the  letter  of  the  King  was  thrown  aside  with  cool  indifference. 

The  Archbishops  and  Bishops  withdrew  from  the  Estates  after  their 
first  meeting,  and  they  are  never  subsequently  mentioned  as  having 

*  Act.  Pari.  Scot,  fol.  vol.  ix.  p.  9,  in  which  is  inserted  a  fac-simile  of  the  original 
document,  with  the  signatures  of  the  Bishops,  Nobility,  Barons,  and  Burgesses. 

f  The  signatures  are  in  the  following  order  : — "  Jo.  Glasgow,  Jo.  Dunkelden.  Will. 
Moravien.  J.  Rossien.  Ro.  Dunblanen.  Arch.  Sodoren.  And.  Orcaden."  The  de- 
claration was  signed  by  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  and  forty-three  noblemen,  among 
whom  was  the  Viscount  of  Dundee,  better  known  as  Graham  of  Claverhouse,  who,  in 
this  stage  of  the  proceedings,  approved  of  the  meeting  of  the  Estates  adopting  mea- 
sures for  securing  the  "  Protestant  religion,  laws,  and  liberties  of  the  Kingdom,"  but 
who  never  imagined  that  they  were  about  to  renounce  their  allegiance  to  James  II. 

X  Printed  in  Act.  Pari.  Scot.  vol.  ix.  p.  10. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL' CHURCH.  83 

been  present.  On  the  19th  of  March  the  Estates  passed  an  "  act  for 
putting  the  kingdom  in  a  posture  of  defence  ;  "  in  which,  after  declaring 
that  the j  would  "  continue  their  meeting  undissolved  until  they  should 
settle  and  securo  the  Protestant  religion,  the  government,  laws,  and 
liberties  of  the  kingdom,"  the  said  Estates  "  doe  advertise  and  require 
the  whole  Protestants  of  the  kingdom,  between  sixtein  and  sixty,  to  bo 
in  readiness  with  their  best  horses  and  armes  upon  advertisement  from 
the  meeting  of  Estates ;  and  likewayes  to  have  their  militia  in  readi- 
ness, to  receive  such  orders  as  shall  be  direct  to  them  from  the  said 
Estates,  for  securing  the  Protestant  religion,  the  lawes,  and  liberties  of 
the  kingdom."*  They  next  resorted  to  the  extraordinary  expedient  of 
requiring  a  kind  of  oath  of  allegiance  to  themselves,  "  to  be  taken  by 
all  persons  in  military  employments/'  t  and  passed  an  act  approving  of 
the  "  good  services  done  by  the  noblemen  and  gentlemen  of  this  nation, 
who  lately  at  London  did  make  and  signe  a  tymeous  and  dutyfull  ad- 
dress to  his  Highness  the  Prince  of  Orange,  containing  just  and  thank- 
full  acknowledgments  of  the  great  benefits  done  to  the  nation,  in  deliver- 
ing them  from  the  eminent  incroatchments  on  our  lawes  and  fundamen- 
tall  constitutions,  and  from  the  near  dangers  which  threatened  ane 
overturning  of  the  Protestant  religion,  and  the  humble  proffer  of  their 
lives  and  fortunes  to  his  Highness  for  sustaining  him  in  prosecution 
of  so  good  a  cause  ;  as  also,  desyring  his  Highness  to  accept  on  him  the 
administration  of  the  government  of  this  kingdom  ;  while  a  meeting  of 
the  Estates  thereof  were  called  to  consult  on  a  farther  settlement,  they 
do  ratifie,  approve,  and  homologate  the  said  address  in  all  its  tenor 
and  contents  ;  and  declair  the  same  to  have  been  ane  act  of  duety,  tend- 
ing to  the  good  of  the  Protestant  religion  in  general,  and  of  this  nation 
in  particular,  in  all  its  concernes."t 

On  the  20th  of  March  the  Estates  issued  a  fierce  "  proclamation 
against  Papists  ;  "  and  on  the  23d  an  act  was  passed  for  "  securing  sus- 
pect  persons."     On  the  latter  day  a  congratulatory  letter  to  the  Prince 

•  Acta  Pari.  Scot.  vol.  ix.  p.  13. 

•j-  "  Whereas  I  hare  Accepted  of  a  commission  from  the  Estates  of  Scotland,  i  r 
am  continued  in  command  by  them*  I  faithfully  promitt,  in  presence  of  the  Almightj 
God,  and  swear  that  1  shall  demean  myselfe  faithfully  to  the  Estates  now  presently 
mett)  so  long  m  I  continue  in  that  stations*" — Acta  Pari.  Scot*  roL  i\.  p«  M 

\  Acta  Pari.  Scot.  vol.  i\.  p.  14. 


84  HISTORY  OF  THE 

of  Orange,  as  King  of  England,  was  read,  approved,  and  signed  by  the 
Duke  of  Hamilton  as  President,  and  a  number  of  the  nobility,  barons, 
and  burgesses.  The  reasons  for  declaring  the  Scottish  throne  vacant 
were  produced  on  the  4th  of  April ;  and  these  are  exclusively  founded 
on  the  unhappy  conduct  of  King  James  in  favour  of  the  Roman  Ca- 
tholics, and  his  avowed  religious  principles  ;  but  no  allusion  is  made  to 
the  Episcopal  Church  either  directly  or  indirectly.  It  was  at  the  same 
time  ordered  that  the  Committee  for  settling  the  Crown  on  William 
and  Mary  "  bring  in  ane  act"  to  that  effect,  and  "  to  consider  the 
termes  of  the  destinatione  of  the  aires  (heirs)  of  the  Crown."  On  the 
11th  of  April  this  declaration  of  the  Estates,  containing  what  they 
called  the  "  Claim  of  Right,"  and  the  offer  of  the  Crown  to  "  William 
and  Mary,  King  and  Queen  of  England,"  was  read,  and  after  several 
amendments  finally  approved.  This  document  recapitulates  at  great 
length  the  reasons  assigned  on  the  4th  of  April  for  declaring  the  throne 
vacant ;  and  the  only  allusion  to  the  Episcopal  Church  is  in  one  of  the 
articles,  the  twenty- second  in  the  order  of  arrangement.  It  is  to  the 
effect  that  "  Prelacy  and  the  superiority  of  any  office  in  the  Church 
above  Presbyters  is,  and  hath  been,  a  great  and  insupportable  grievance 
and  trouble  to  this  nation,  and  contrary  to  the  inclinations  of  the  gene- 
rality of  the  people  ever  since  the  Reformation,  they  having  reformed 
from  Popery  by  Presbyters,  and  therefore  ought  to  be  abolished/'  The 
succession  of  the  Scottish  Crown  was  regulated  similarly  to  that  of 
England.  It  was  also  ordered  that  the  following  oath  "  be  taken  by 
all  Protestants  of  whom  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  any  other  oaths  and 
declarationes  might  be  required  by  law  in  stead  of  them,  and  that  the 
said  oath  of  allegiance,  and  other  oaths  and  declarationes,  may  be  abro- 
gated : — I  do  sincerly  promise  and  swear  that  I  will  be  faithfull  and 
bear  true  allegiance  to  their  Majesties  King  William  and  Queen  Mary. 
So  help  me  God."  On  that  day  William  and  Mary  were  ordered  to  be 
proclaimed  at  the  Cross  of  Edinburgh  by  the  Lord  Lyon  King-at-Arms, 
and  throughout  the  kingdom  ;  and  the  Estates  also  passed  an  act  "de- 
claring that  they  are  to  continue  in  the  Government  until  the  King  and 
Queen  of  England  accept  the  Crown."  * 

It  is  to  be  here  observed  that  the  oath  of  allegiance  before  the  Revolu- 

*  Acta  Pari.  Scot.  vol.  ix.  pp.  37 — 41. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  85 

tion  was  very  different  from  the  above  enacted  by  the  Scottish  Estates, 
and  this  was  the  great  stumbling-block  in  the  way  of  the  bishops,  clergy, 
several  of  the  nobility,  numerous  gentlemen,  and  even  of  many  Presby- 
terians, who  refused  to  acknowledge  King  William  and  Queen  Mary  on 
conscientious  principles.     The  oath  before  the  Revolution  was  as  fol- 
lows : — "  I  do  promise  to  be  true  and  faithful  to  the  King  and  his  heirs, 
and  truth  and  faith  to  bear,  of  life  and  limb  and  terrene  honour,  and 
not  to  know  or  hear  of  any  ill  or  damage  intended  him,  without  defending 
him  therefrom."     No  oath  of  abjuration  was.  then  required  from  any 
order  of  men.     The  opinions  expressed  by  James  Earl  of  Arran,  after- 
wards fourth  Duke  of  Hamilton,  eldest  son  of  William  and  Anne  Duke 
and  Duchess  of  Hamilton,  were  those  of  the  Scottish  Bishops  and  clergy, 
and  of  a  powerful  body  of  influential  laity.     His  Lordship  stated  his 
opinions  at  one  of  the  conferences  held  by  the  Scottish  nobility  in  Lon- 
don after  the  arrival  of  William.     "  I  have  all  the  honour  and  deference 
imaginable,"  said  his  Lordship,  "for  the  Prince  of  Orange.     I  think 
him  a  brave  Prince,  and  that  we  owe  him  great  obligations  for  contri- 
buting so  much  to  our  deliverance  from  Popery,  but  while  I  pay  him 
these  praises  I  cannot  violate  my  duty  to  my  master.     I  must  distin- 
guish between  his  Popery  and  his  person  ;  I  dislike  the  one,  but  I  have 
sworn  and  do  owe  allegiance  to  the  other,  which  makes  it  impossible  for 
me  to  sign  away  that  which  I  cannot  forbear  believing  is  the  King  my 
master's  right ;  for  his  present  absence  from  us  in  France  can  no  more 
affect  my  duty  than  his  longer  absence  from  us  (in  Scotland)  has  done 
all  this  while  ;  and,  therefore,  as  the  Prince  has  desired  our  advices,  mine 
is,  that  we  should  move  his  Majesty  (James  II.)  to  return  and  call  a  free 
Parliament  fur  securing  our  religion  and  property,  which,  in  my  humble 
opinion,  will  at  last  be  found  the  best  way  to  heal  all  our  breaches."* 
This  nobleman,  who  adopted  different  views  of  tho  Revolution  from  his 
father,  and  whose  life,  from  the  Revolution  to  his  death  in  the  fatal  duel 
with  Lord  Moliun  in  Hyde  Park  in  1712,  evinced  a  continual  struggle 
between  his  senso  of  duty  and  his  inclination  to  support  the  interest  of 
the  exiled  Family.    It  is  now  unnecessary  to  express  any  opinion  regard- 
ing the  policy  or  justice  of  the  Bar!  of  Arrau's  sentiments,  which  may 
nnu  be  considered  as  exploded,  and  it  isonlj  sufficient  to  state,  thai  thej 

*  Douglas1  '.'•  irage  of 'Scotland    Wood's  edition),  roL  i   p.  "I  I 


86  HISTORY  OF  THE 

prevailed  to  a  very  great  extent  throughout  Scotland.  It  is  now  ad- 
mitted that  protection  and  allegiance  are  to  a  certain  extent  reciprocal. 
Dr  Paley  understands  the  present  oath  as  not  requiring  us  to  continue 
our  allegiance  to  the  sovereign  if  actually  deposed,  or  driven  into  exile. 
Whatever  notion  may  be  formed  of  the  soundness  of  this  interpretation 
of  the  present  oath,  the  former  one  was  considered  in  a  different  light 
by  men  of  the  highest  rank  in  Scotland.  All  persons  in  office  had 
sworn  to  be  faithful  to  King  James  and  his  heirs,  and,  as  Bishop  Russell 
observes,  "  though  the  Scottish  Convention  had  voted  that  King  James, 
by  his  mal- administration  and  his  abuse  of  power,  had  forfeited  all  title 
to  the  crown,  the  Bishops  might,  without  absurdity  or  narrow-minded- 
ness, consider  themselves  as  still  bound  by  their  oaths  to  be  faithful  to 
his  infant  son,  who  could  have  done  nothing  to  forfeit  his  titles."* 

On  the  subject  of  oaths  of  allegiance,  as  administered  at  this  period, 
the  following  observations,  though  applicable  rather  to  the  English  Non- 
jurors than  to  the  Scottish  Bishops  and  Clergy,  are  worthy  of  notice. 
"  No  oaths  of  whatever  description,"  says  Bishop  Short,  in  his  admir- 
able remarks  on  the  English  Nonjurors  and  the  Revolution  of  1688, 
"  will  bind  bad  men,  when  the  sentiments  of  the  mass  of  the  people  are 
contrary  to  the  tenor  of  the  oath  ;  and  there  is  no  more  frightful  parti- 
cular presented  to  us  by  history  than  the  frequency  with  which  oaths 
are  imposed  and  broken.  In  this  case  many  upright  men,  whose  bold 
and  temperate  opposition  to  James  had  been  chiefly  instrumental  in  fix- 
ing the  opinions  of  the  nation,  and  who,  under  God,  had  contributed 
more  than  any  others  to  effect  the  change  which  had  taken  place,  were 
the  first  to  suffer  for  their  uprightness.  No  one  can  fail  to  admire  their 
conduct,  and  to  pity  them,  if  indeed  any  one  who  suffers  in  the  perform- 
ance of  his  duty  can  be  an  object  of  pity  ;  but  surely  the  Government 
which  imposes  the  oath  by  which  such  persons  were  ejected,  has  no 
reason  to  expect  that  it  will  be  served  by  honest  men."t  In  addition, 
the  circumstances  of  the  times  must  be  taken  into  account.  It  is  ob- 
served by  a  very  competent  judge,  that  while  the  Revolution  was  con- 
ducted constitutionally  by  the  English  Parliament,  it  was  conducted  un 
constitutionally  by  the  Scottish  Convention,  the  members  of  which  were, 

*    Keith's  Catalogue  of  Scottish  Bishops,  Appendix,  p.  497. 

t   Sketch   of  the  History  of  the  Church  of  England  to   the  Revolution  of   1688. 
Pv  Thomas  Vowler  Short,  D.D-,  in  1841  Bishop  of  Man,  vol.  ii.  p.  371,  372. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  87 

with  hardly  any  exceptions,  all  of  one  party.*  If  this  is  the  deliberate 
opinion  of  recent  times,  it  must  have  been  intensely  felt  at  the  Revolu- 
tion, when  no  one  could  have  predicted  its  advantages,  and  when  a 
powerful  party  never  believed  that  the  new  C4overnment  would  be  per- 
manent. 

On  the%L3th  of  April  the  Scottish  Estates  issued  a  stringent  procla- 
mation "  against  owning  of  the  late  King  James,  and  appointing  public 
prayers  for  William  and  Mary,  King  and  Queen  of  Scotland."  The 
only  allusion  to  ecclesiastical  matters  is  one  of  the  "  grievances"  voted 
and  approved — "  That  the  first  act  of  Parliament  1669  is  inconsistent 
with  the  establishment  of  the  Church  government  now  desyred,  and 
ought  to  be  abrogated."!  This  act,  which  is  properly  the  second  of 
that  Parliament,  is  entitled  an  "  Act  asserting  his  Majestie's  Supremacie 
over  all  persons  and  in  all  causes  ecclesiastical.  "J  On  the  16th  of  April 
the  form  of  the  oath  to  be  taken  by  William  and  Mary  at  their  accept- 
ance of  the  Crown  was  read,  voted,  and  approved  in  the  usual  manner, 
yet  it  has  no  reference  either  to  the  Episcopal  Church  or  to  Presbyteri- 
anism,  and  it  is  generally  expressed  that  the  new  sovereigns  were  to 
"  maintain  the  true  religion  of  Christ  Jesus,  the  preaching  of  his  holy 
Word,  and  the  due  and  right  ministration  of  the  sacraments,  now  re- 
ceived and  preached  within  the  realm  of  Scotland."§ 

The  Earl  of  Argyll,  Sir  James  Montgomery  of  Skelmorlie,  and  Sir 
John  Dalrymple,  were  deputed  by  the  Estates  to  proceed  with  a  letter 
to  William  and  Mary,  announcing  that  they  had  been  duly  proclaimed 
with  so  "  much  unanimity,  that  of  the  whole  House  there  was  not  one 
contrary  vote."  This  unanimity  is  explained  by  tho  fact  that  all  the 
nobility  and  members  who  adhered  to  the  exiled  Family  had  retired 
from  the  Convention.  The  Estates  add — "  Wo  beseech  your  Majesties, 
in  presence  of  theso  sent  by  us,  to  swear  and  signc  the  oath  herewith 
presented,  which  our  law  hath  appointed  to  bo  taken  by  our  Kings  and 
Queens  at  the  entry  to  their  government,  till  Buoh  tyme  as  your  great 
affairs  allow  this  kingdome  the  happines  of  your  presence,  in  order  to 
the  coronation  of  your  Majesties."!     On  the  24th  of  May  a  Letter  was 

•  Ward's  Enquiry  into  the  Law  of  Nations,  vol.  ii.  p.  513.     Chalmers'  Caledonia, 
v«»l.  i.  p,  SC4.  f   Act;i  Pari   Boot.  rol.  Lx.  p.  45. 

X  acta  Pari.  Boot  rol.  rii  p.  654,  it  I  i  Pari,  B  ot  rol   b   p    \8 

||  A.-ta  Pari  Bed    i  l.  iz.  p.  60 


88  HISTORY  OF  THE 

received,  signed  William  R.,  announcing  that  he  and  his  consort  had 
taken  and  signed  the  oath,  and  adjourning  the  Estates  to  the  5th  of 
June,  when  they  were  to  meet  as  a  Parliament.*  The  only  hostile  act 
previous  to  this  adjournment  against  the  Established  clergy  was  the 
deprivation,  on  the  26th  of  April,  of  Dr  John  Strachan,  Professor  of  Di- 
vinity in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  Mr  Andrew  Cant,  and  Mr  John 
Macqueen,  both  ministers  of  the  city,  for  not  "  making  publick  prayers 
for  King  William  and  Queen  Mary,"  and  confessing  that  "  they  had 
not  freedome  to  give  obedience  thereto  in  tyme  coming,  "t 

It  is  now  proper  to  recur  to  the  Church  during  the  period  of  the  pre- 
ceding political  sketch.  We  have  already  seen  that  no  sooner  was  the 
landing  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  known  in  several  districts  of  Scotland, 
than  the  legal  Episcopal  incumbents  of  the  parishes,  ignorantly  and  inso- 
lently termed  curates,  as  a  title  of  opprobrium,  were  subjected  to  the  most 
wanton  maltreatment  by  the  excited  peasantry.  Of  all  this  the  Bishop 
of  Edinburgh  was  well  aware,  and  he  has  recorded  the  answer  of  Bishop 
Burnet,  who,  when  earnestly  requested  to  exert  himself  in  behalf  of  his 
distressed  countrymen,  coolly  told  him  that  he  "did  not  meddle  in 
Scottish  affairs."  The  suffering  clergy,  when  they  perceived  that  there 
was  no  prospect  of  a  termination  of  the  miseries  they  were  enduring 
from  the  dangerous  rabble,  delegated  Dr  Scott,  Dean  of  Glasgow,  on 
the  22d  of  January  1688-9,  to  proceed. to  Ldndon,  and  "represent  to 
the  Prince  of  Orange,  and  to  the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal,  the 
grievances,  oppressions,  and  injuries  they  were  labouring  under  in  Scot- 
land for  their  firm  adherence  to  Episcopacy  ;"  and  they  offered  to  prove 
the  truth  of  all  their  allegations  if  they  could  obtain  a  fair  and  impar- 
tial hearing.^ 

On  the  6th  of  the  following  February  a  proclamation  appeared  in 
consequence,  "  prohibiting  and  discharging,"  as  it  is  expressed  in  the 
Scottish  legal  phraseology,  "  all  disturbance  and  violence  upon  account 
of  religion,  or  the  exercise  thereof,  or  any  such  like  pretence,  and  that 
no  interruption  be  made,  or,  if  any  hath  been  made,  that  it  cease,  in 
the  free  and  peaceable  exercise  of  religion,  whether  in  churches  or  in 
public  or  private  meeting-houses,  of  those  of  a  different  persuasion." 
All  persons  in  arms  were  also  ordered  peremptorily  to  "  separate,  dis- 

'    Acta  Pari.  Scot.  vol.  ix.  p.  93,  94.  f   Acta  Pari.  Scot.  vol.  ix.  p.  68. 

\   Skinner's  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii.  p.  520. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  89 

miss,  and  disband  themselves,  and  retire  to  their  respective  dwellings." 
But  instead  of  this  proclamation  being  obeyed  by  the  tumultuous  Pres- 
byterians they  became  more  violent,  and  in  the  city  of  Glasgow,  on  the 
Sunday  after  it  had  been  read  at  the  market  cross,  a  mob  of  those  mis- 
guided zealots  assaulted  the  magistrates  and  congregation  when  assembled 
in  the  cathedral  church  for  divine  service,  wounding  a  number  of  per- 
sons. It  happened  that  Dr  Fall,  the  Principal  of  the  University,  was 
then  in  London,  and  an  account  of  this  outrage  was  transmitted  to  him 
to  be  presented  to  the  Prince  of  Orange.  Dr  Fall  had  an  audience  of 
the  Prince,  and  laid  the  statement  before  his  Highness,  who  told  him 
that  at  the  approaching  meeting  of  the  Estates  all  such  complaints  would 
be  submitted  for  redress. 

The  violence  of  the  mob  at  Edinburgh,  towards  all  whom  they  con- 
sidered in  the  interest  of  King  James,  must  not  be  overlooked  during 
the  sitting  of  the  Convention.  Crowds  of  the  Cameronians  beset  the 
entrance  of  the  Parliament  House,  studiously  insulting  those  noblemen 
and  gentlemen  who  were  attached  to  the  Church,  and  especially  threat- 
ening and  abusing  the  Bishops,  who  were  still  legally  entitled  to  a  seat  in 
the  Convention.  In  addition  to  this  riotous  conduct,  several  thousands 
of  the  most  violent  peasantry  from  the  western  counties  appeared  in 
Edinburgh,  and  were  ordered  by  the  Convention  to  be  formed  into  a 
regiment  under  the  command  of  the  Earl  of  Leven,  a  noted  supporter 
of  the  new  polity.  This  was  on  the  18th  of  March,  and  the  presence 
of  this  illegal  body  of  armed  men  deterred  many  members,  from  a  fear 
of  their  personal  safety,  from  attending  the  meeting  of  the  Estates  in 
the  Parliament  House,  while  the  Bishops  no  longer  appeared.  The 
Convention  was  now  composed  of  persons  of  the  same  political  princi- 
ples. The  arrival  of  a  body  of  regular  troops  under  General  Mackay 
rendered  the  services  of  the  West  country  Cameronians  unnecessary, 
although  Leven  obtained  an  act  empowering  him  to  march  this  regiment 
where  lie  pleased  in  Fife,  and  they  were  dismissed  as  "  well  affected  to 
the  Protestant  interest,"  with  a  vote  of  thanks   for  their  "  reasonable 

[Stance."  The  West  country  invasion  is  thus  noticed  by  a  contempo 
larv  : — "  This  day  [18th  of  March  1G89]  the  Cameronians.  to  the  Bom- 
ber of  7<|<»,),  lately  come  to  Edinburgh,  to  take  the  guarding  of  the  <  Ion 

ation,  drew  up  in  the  publicl;  great  streets  of  the  city.    These  Came 
ronians,  wcalled  from  one  Cameron,  a  preacher,  or  famous  ringleader 
among  them,  are  the  worst   Kind  of  Presbyterians,  who  confyne  the 


90  nisTOitY  or  the 

Church  to  a  few  of  the  Western  shyres  of  the  kingdome  of  Scotland  ; 
disclaime  all  kings  who  will  not  worship  God  after  their  own  way  ; 
think  it  their  duty  to  murder  all  who  are  out  of  the  state  of  grace,  that 
is,  not  of  their  communion  ;  in  a  word,  who  take  away  the  second 
table  of  the  Decalogue  upon  pretence  of  keeping  the  first ;  and  who  are 
only  for  sacrifice,  but  for  no  mercy  at  all."* 

The  proclamation  issued  by  the  Meeting  of  Estates,  prohibiting  the 
acknowledgment  of  King  James,  ordered  "  all  ministers  of  the  gospel 
within  the  kingdom  to  publicly  pray  for  King  William  and  Queen 
Mary,  as  King  and  Queen  of  this  realm  ;  requiring  likewise  the  mini- 
sters within  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  under  pain  of  being  deprived  and 
losing  their  benefices,  to  read  this  proclamation  from  their  pulpits  on 
Sunday  next,  the  14th  instant,  at  the  end  of  the  forenoon  sermon,  and 
the  ministers  to  the  south  of  the  Tay  to  read  it  on  the  21st,  and 
those  to  the  north  of  the  Tay  on  the  28th,  under  the  above  penalty  ; 
and  prohibiting  any  injury  to  be  offered,  by  any  person  whatever, 
to  any  minister  of  the  gospel,  either  in  kirks  or  meeting-houses,  who  are 
presently  in  possession  and  exercise  of  their  ministry  therein,  they  be- 
having themselves  as  becometh  under  the  present  Government." 

It  will  be  subsequently  seen  in  what  manner  this  proclamation  was 
obeyed  by  the  Episcopal  parochial  clergy,  who,  it  is  obvious,  could  not  act 
according  to  its  injunctions  without  the  consent  of  their  Diocesans.  The 
Estates,  as  already  mentioned,  deprived  Dr  Strachan  and  Messrs  Cant 
and  Macqueen  before  their  adjournment ;  and  the  Commitee  on  whom 
devolved  the  regulation  of  public  affairs  between  the  adjournment  and 
the  meeting  of  the  Parliament  "  took  orders"  with  a  few  more.  On 
the  2d  of  May  they  deprived  Mr  James  Wauch,  minister  of  Leith,  and 
Mr  John  Somerville,  minister  of  Cramond.  On  the  following  day,  Mr 
Arthur  Millar,  minister  of  Inveresk,  was  similarly  treated,  and  proper 
intimations  were  enjoined  to  be  made  to  the  patrons  of  the  respective  pa- 
rishes. On  the  6th  of  May  Mr  George  Barclay,  minister  of  Mordington 
in  Berwickshire,  was  deprived,  and  two  days  afterwards,  Mr  Alexander 
Irvine,  minister  of  Inverkeithing  in  Fife,  Mr  Andrew  Auchinleck, 
minister  of  Newbattle,  and  Mr  David  Laurence,  minister  of  Carring- 
ton.     On  the  10th  were  deprived  Mr  George  Henry,  minister  of  Cor- 

*  Siege  of  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh,  1669,  4to,  printed  for  the  Bannatync  Club 
in  1828.  r.  37. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  91 

storphine,  and  Mr  Robert  Ramsay,  minister  of  Prestonpans.  Mr 
Robert  Wright  and  Mr  Alexander  Young,  ministers  of  Culross,  were 
deprived,  and  the  noted  preacher  named  Frazer  of  Brae  appointed  to 
officiate.  On  the  14th,  Mr  Alexander  Hamilton,  minister  of  Stenton, 
and  Mr  Alexander  Cumming,  minister  of  Libberton,  were  deprived  ; 
and  on  the  following  day  Mr  John  Mather,  minister  of  Ceres.  Two 
days  afterwards,  Mr  James  Scrimgeour,  minister  of  Currie,  and  Mr 
John  Taylor,  minister  of  Dron,  were  deprived.  Some  others,  however, 
who  had  complied  with  the  proclamation,  but  who  had  nevertheless 
been  assaulted  by  the  rabble,  were  ordered  to  continue  as  the  incum- 
bents of  their  parishes. 

One  great  objection  which  influenced  many  of  the  Episcopal  incum- 
bents of  the  parishes  to  decline  complying  with  the  proclamation  of  the 
Estates,  was  the  language  of  the  oath  which  William  and  Mary  sub- 
scribed. According  to  its  phraseology,  we  are  almost  apt  to  infer  that 
no  true  religion  had  been  known  or  professed  in  Scotland,  provious  to 
the  Revolution,  except  by  the  Presbyterian  Cameronians  and  Cove- 
nanters. The  new  sovereigns  were  required  to  swear  that  they  would 
"  serve  the  eternal  God  to  the  utmost  of  their  power,  according  as  He 
has  commanded  in  his  most  Holy  Word,  revealed  and  contained  in  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,  and  according  to  the  same  Word  shall  main 
tain  the  true  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  preaching  of  his  Holy  Word, 
and  the  due  and  right  ministration  of  the  Sacraments  now  received 
and  preached  within  the  realm  of  Scotland."  In  this  nothing  is  objec- 
tionable, and  it  strictly  applied,  though  the  framers  of  the  oath  probably 
meant  differently,  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  which  was  still  the  legal 
national  establishment  of  the  kingdom,  though  the  clergy  had  been 
visited  by  persecution  in  several  districts.  Previous  to  the  meeting  of 
the  Estates,  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  had  earnestly  entreated  Archbishop 
I  loss  of  St  Andrews  and  Bishop  Rose  of  Edinburgh,  "for  then-  own 
tahet  to  follow  the  example  of  the  Church  of  England,"  assuring  the  Pri- 
mate that  "  nothing  would  bo  done  to  the  prejudico  of  Episcopacy,  if 
the  Bishops  could  by  any  means  be  brought  to  befriend"  the  interests 
of  William.  The  reply  of  the  Archbishop  to  the  Duke  La  previously 
noticed,  by  which  it  sufficiently  appears  that  the  Bishops  had  unani- 
mously resolved  to  adhere  to  the  exiled  dynasty  in  "the  face  of  all  dan- 
gers, and  to  the  greatest  losses."    Bo  far,  then,  as  the  oath  was  expn 


92  HISTORY  OF  THE 

ed  no  possible  objection  could  be  offered,  but  the  intolerant  and  perse- 
cuting clause  followed,  that  the  new  Sovereigns  were  to  swear  that  they 
would  be  "  careful  to  root  out  all  heretics  and  enemies  to  the  true  wor- 
ship of  God,  that  shall  be  convict  by  the  true  Kirk  of  God  of  the  said 
crimes,  out  of  their  lands  and  empire  of  Scotland."  But  William  refused 
to  subscribe  this  clause  to  the  letter,  as  it  literally  bound  him  to  sanction 
the  rooting  out  and  extirpation  of  all  those  whom  the  Presbyterians  chose 
to  malign  as  "  heretics  and  enemies  to  the  true  worship  of  God,"  by 
which  they  meant  exclusively  their  own  system.  This,  it  is  admitted 
by  Dr  George  Cook,  the  distinguished  ornament  of  the  Presbyterian 
Establishment,  appeared  to  William  "  to  imply  that  he  was  to  persecute 
those  who  dissented  from  the  ancient  faith,  and  shrinking  from  the  idea, 
he  requested  it* to  be  understood  that  he  did  not  by  the  oath  bind  him- 
self to  persecute  any  of  his  subjects  for  following  the  dictates  of  con- 
science."* 

During  the  sitting  of  the  Estates  and  the  interval  before  the  meeting 
of  Parliament,  the  Duke  of  Gordon  and  the  Viscount  of  Dundee  caused 
an  infinitude  of  alarm  and  trouble  to  the  predominant  party.  The  for- 
mer nobleman  was  George,  fourth  Marquis  of  Huntly,  advanced  to  the 
dignity  of  Duke  of  Gordon  in  1684.  At  the  Revolution  he  was  Gover- 
nor of  Edinburgh  Castle,  and  held  that  important  fortress  for  King 
James  in  defiance  of  the  Estates.  His  Grace  was  a  Roman  Catholic, 
yet  he  evinced  his  dislike  of  the  measures  of  King  James  for  encou- 
raging the  Papal  system  in  Scotland  by  removing  the  penal  laws  and 
tests,  and  was  in  consequence  much  vilified  by  the  Romish  priests  and 
their  adherents.  He  was  summoned  to  surrender,  and  on  his  refusal 
was  proclaimed  a  traitor.  This  gave  the  Duke  of  Gordon  little  concern, 
and  though  a  siege  of  the  fortress  was  commenced,  his  Grace,  notwith- 
standing the  limited  number  and  weakness  of  the  garrison,  and  the  want 
of  provisions,  held  out  till  the  14th  of  June,  when  he  surrendered  on 
honourable  conditions,  and  marched  out  unmolested.  During  the  siege 
he  behaved  with  great  humanity  in  not  allowing  sallies,  and  abstaining 
from  firing  on  the  city.  A  contemporary  account  of  this  siege  was 
printed  for  the  Bannatyne  Club  by  Robert  Bell,   Esq.,   Advocate,  in 

*  Dr  George  Cook's  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  from  the  Reformation  to 
the  Revolution,  vol.  iii.  p.  447. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  93 

1828.  It  is  stated  that  the  greater  part  of  the  garrison  were  Protest- 
ants, who  were  at  first  inclined  to  revolt,  suspecting  that  the  Duke  of 
Gordon  would  oblige  them  by  oath  to  maintain  the  Roman  Catholic 
religion,  but  his  Grace  "  assured  them  that  he  had  no  such  intention, 
and  that  he  required  no  other  oath  of  them  than  to  maintain  the  religion 
established  by  the  laws,  and  to  be  obedient  to  the  King  (James  II.)  and 
their  superior  officers.  The  most  part  of  the  garrison  renewed  this 
oath,  and  those  who  refused  it  were  disbanded,  and  turned  out  of  the 
Castle."*  The  besiegers  lost  several  men  during  the  attack,  but  did 
little  injury  to  the  fortress.  Several  curious  notices  occur  of  the  ope- 
rations at  the  siege.  A  parley  was  beat  on  the  3d  of  April  for  a  cessa- 
tion of  hostilities  during  the  interment  of  Sir  George  Lockhart,  Lord 
President  of  the  Court  of  Session,  in  the  Greyfriars'  churchyard,  who 
was  assassinated  by  Chiesley  of  Dairy  on  Easter  Sunday,  when  return- 
ing from  the  High  Church  to  his  residence  in  the  Lawnmarket.  "  I 
cannot  say  whose  work  the  besiegers  were  about,"  observes  the  contem- 
porary writer,  "  but  they  never  failed  to  ply  it  hard  on  the  Lord's  day, 
upon  which  one  of  our  Highlanders  observed,  that  though  he  was  apt  to 
forget  the  days  of  the  week,  yet  he  well  knew  Sunday,  by  some  mischief 
or  other  begun,  or  hotly  carried  on  by  our  Reformers."! 

The  other  nobleman  was  the  celebrated  John  Graham,  created  Vis- 
count of  Dundee  on  the  12th  of  November  1688  by  patent,  better  known 
as  Graham  of  Claverhouse,  and  the  terror  of  the  Presbyterians,  who 
designated  him  Bloody  Claverhouse,  while  he  was  the  very  idol  of  the 
Highland  Clans,  with  whom  his  chief,  the  great  Marquis  of  Montrose, 
had  also  been  most  enthusiastically  popular.  The  Viscount  of  Dundee 
was  a  zealous  supporter  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  it  was  his  repeat- 
ed declaration  that  the  more  that  Church  was  assailed  by  the  Presby- 
terians and  Covenanters  the  more  he  loved  it.  The  Viscount  withdrew 
from  the  meeting  of  the  Estates,  alleging  that  a  plot  was  concocted  to 
murder  him,  which  is  not  unlikely,  considering  the  detestation  in  which 
he  was  held  by  the  West  country  Presbyterians,  several  thousands  oi 
whom  wore  then  in  Edinburgh.  There  was  in  reality  some  project  to 
this  effect  concocted,  and  it  is  expressly  stated  by  a  contemporary  that 
six  or  seven  (Jameronians  intended  to  murder  him  ami  Sir  George  Mac 

*  Stag*  «>r  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh  In  1686,  4t«»,  p.  20.  t  Ibid  p.  54. 


94  HISTORY  OF  THE 

kenzie.*     This  nobleman  departed  from  the  city  at  the  head  of  sixty 
troopers,  and  marched  in  the  direction  of  Linlithgow  and  Stirling  to 
summon  the  Highland  Clans  to  the  standard  of  King  James.     He  left 
Edinburgh  by  the  old  steep  alley  called  Leith  Wynd,  and  slowly  rode 
with  his  troopers  over  the  ground,  then  called  the  Lang  Raw,  now  oc- 
cupied by  the  magnificent  line  of  Prince's  Street.     When  he  reached 
the  west  end  of  that  street,  he  halted  his  troopers  near  where  St  John's 
Episcopal  Chapel  now  stands,  and  ascended  the  west  side  of  the  rock  on 
which  the  Castle  is  built  to  hold  a  conference  with  the  Duke  of  Gordon. 
He  reached  with  no  small  difficulty  the  bottom  of  the  walls,  and  met 
the  Duke  at  what  was  called  the  Postern  Gate.    This  was  on  the  19th 
of  March,  and  the  substance  of  the  interview  between  the  Duke  and  the 
Viscount  is  thus  recorded  by  the  contemporary  writer  already  quoted : — 
"  The  day  following,  the  Governor,  with  a  telescope,  perceived  some 
horsemen  appearing  on  the  north  side  of  the  town,  and  drawing  towards 
the  Castle.     It  was  the  Viscount  of  Dundee,  who  seeing  the  Convention 
had  resolved  to  renounce  all  alledgiance  to  their  lawfull  soveraigne,  and 
laid  asyde  all  kind  of  respect  for  him,  he  abandoned  their  assemblie, 
and  coming  to  the  foot  of  the  rock,  the  Governor  spoke  to  him  from  the 
top  of  the  wall,  and  then  went  out  and  discoursed  with  him.     He  told 
what  had  passed  in  the  Convention  at  the  receiving  of  the  King's  let- 
ter, and  the  small  impression  it  made  upon  the  members  of  that  assem- 
bly.  The  Governor  asked  a  sight  of  the  letter,  but  Dundee  had  no  copy, 
and  the  Governor  never  saw  it.     Then  Dundee  parted  from  the  Gover- 
nor, and  returned  to  his  own  party  of  about  thirty  or  forty  horse,  and 
went  away  with  them  towards  his  own  dwelling  beside  Dundee.     After 
that  time  the  Governor  never  received  any  letters  from  him."t     It  ap- 
pears that  Dundee  exhorted  the  Duke  to  hold  out  the  Castle,  which  he 
promised  to  relieve   within  twenty   days.j       Another  account  states 
that  the  Viscount  urged  the  Duke  to  resign  the  fortress  to  the  command 
of  a  faithful  lieutenant,  and  accompany  him  to  the  Highlands  to  raise 
the  Gordon  clan  in  favour  of  James  ;  but  that  the  Duke  declined,  al- 
leging that  a  soldier  could  not  in  honour  quit  the  post  assigned  to  him. 
He,  however,  assured  the  Viscount  that  he  would  hold  out  the  fortress 

*  Locheill's  Memoirs,  4to,  1842,  p.  235. 

t  Siege  of  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh,  4to,  1828,  p.  38.  %  Ibid.  p.  70. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  95 

as  long  as  possible,  and  the  latter  descending  from  the  rock,  rejoined 
his  men,  and  resumed  his  march. 

This  singular  conference  caused  great  excitement  in  Edinburgh,  and 
rumour  was  not  idle.  The  Estates  were  then  sitting,  and  it  was  stated 
that  the  result  of  the  interview  between  the  two  Cavalier  noblemen 
would  be  that  the  Duke  would  fire  upon  the  Parliament  House,  but 
their  fears  were  groundless  and  imaginary.  Some  thousands  ran  to  wit- 
ness the  conference,  and  the  Viscount's  enemies  alleged  that  they  were 
all  his  adherents,  and  that  he  had  collected  two  thousand  of  the  dis- 
banded troops  of  King  James  to  surprise  the  meeting  of  the  Estates.  An 
order  was  issued  to  the  Earl  of  Leven  to  secure  the  peace  of  the  city, 
but  Dundee,  with  his  forty,  or,  as  it  was  said  in  the  Convention,  sixty 
troopers,  was  allowed  to  depart  unmolested.  A  warrant  was  sent  to 
his  seat  near  Dundee,  citing  him  to  appear  before  the  Estates  on 
the  22d  of  March,  to  which  he  paid  no  attention.  Having  been  in- 
formed that  the  Viscount  had  halted  at  Linlithgow,  the  militia  were 
commanded  to  dislodge  him,  and  the  Viscount  and  Lord  Livingstone 
were  ordered  to  lay  down  their  arms  within  twenty-four  hours,  under 
pain  of  high  treason.  On  the  30th  of  March  the  Viscount  was  denounc- 
ed a  rebel  at  the  Cross  of  Edinburgh,  but  these  proceedings  were  set  at 
defiance,  and  he  set  out  for  the  Highlands  to  raise  the  Clans,  for  the 
cause,  as  he  expressed  it,  of"  King  James  and  the  Church  of  Scotland." 
The  Earl  of  Balcarras,  another  nobleman  supposed  to  be  in  leaguo  with 
the  Viscount,  was  apprehended  at  his  seat  of  Balcarras  in  Fife,  and  was 
committed  a  close  prisoner  to  the  Tolbooth,  and  to  the  Castle  of  Edin- 
burgh after  its  surrender  by  the  Duke  of  Gordon. 

General  Mackay  advanced  against  the  Viscount  of  Dundee,  whose 
extraordinary  career  among  the  Clans  it  would  be  out  of  place  to  nar- 
rate in  the  present  work.  Among  his  exploits  may  bo  mentioned  his 
rout  of  Colonel  Ramsay,  which  caused  the  retreat  of  General  Mackay. 
who  was  pursued  by  the  Viscount  in  the  direction  of  Glenlivet.  Ee 
was  joined  by  Sir  Donald  Macdonald  of  Slate,  ancestor  of  the  Lords 
Maodonald,  with  seven  hundred  men,  and  by  the  Captain  of  ClanranaM 
with  six  hundred  men,  in  addition  to  the  large  reinforcements  he  had 
received  from  the  (.'aim  ions  of  Locheill  and  other  Clans. 


%  HISTORY  or  THE 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  DISESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

The  first  Parliament  of  "  our  high  and  dread  Soveraigne  Lord  and 
Lady  William  and  Mary"  met  at  Edinburgh,  according  to  the  order 
for  adjourning  the  meeting  of  the  Estates,  on  the  5th  of  June  1689,  the 
Duke  of  Hamilton  Lord  High  Commissioner.  His  Grace  announced 
that  "his  Majesty  having  been  pleased  to  comply  with  their  desire,  in 
turning  this  meeting  of  the  Estates  into  a  Parliament,"  produced 
William's  letter,  which  was  duly  recorded,  and  an  act  passed,  and  pub- 
licly proclaimed  at  the  Cross  of  Edinburgh,  that  "  none  pretend  igno- 
rance," declaring  that  this  was  a  lawful  Parliament.  Upwards  of  a 
month  was  occupied  in  routine  business,  and  by  the  members  taking  the 
oath  of  allegiance.  On  the  9th  of  July  a  letter  was  received  from  King 
William,  in  which  he  states  that  "  we  have  likewayes  instructed  our 
Commissiouner  to  hasten  our  people's  satisfaction  in  settling  the  church 
government,  and  for  enacting  restitution  to  all  who  have  been  lately  in- 
jured by  fines,  forfeitures,  or  compositions  on  their  accounts."* 

It  is  evident  from  the  preceding  narrative  that  the  opposition  of  the 
Presbyterians  to  the  Church  was  apparently  confined  solely  to  its  epis- 
copal constitution.  They  had  no  conscientious  grievances  to  urge  in 
the  matters  of  doctrine  and  ceremonies,  and  many  of  them  never  pre- 
tended to  allege  any,  with  the  exception  of  their  objections  to  the  Doxo- 
logy,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  at  public 
divine   service.      The   charge  brought  against  the  Archbishops   and 

*  Acta  Pari.  Scot.  vol.  ix.  p.  102. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CITUttCH.  ^>7 

Bishops  of  slavish  servility  to  King  James,  and  of  favouring  his  projects 
for  encouraging  Romanism,  has  been  long  abandoned  as  utterly  ground- 
less.   The  following  observations  by  a  distinguished  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Establishment  are  of  importance  on  this  subject : — "  Of  the 
Episcopal  clergy,"  says  Dr  George  Cook,  "  many  were  so  warped  with 
notions  of  the  obligation  of  non-resistance  to  the  supreme  magistrate, 
and  were  so  convinced  that  the  stability  of  the  Hierarchy  could  be  se- 
cured only  by  supporting  the  sovereign,  that  they  felt  the  utmost  reluc- 
tance to  oppose  his  schemes  ;  and  allowing  themselves  to  believe  that  he 
would  never  so  far  violate  the  solemn  pledge  he  had  given  as  to  attack 
the  Protestant  religion,  they  were  not  averse  that  concessions  should  be 
made  to  those  of  the  same  faith  with  himself.     But  there  were  others  of 
this  [the  Episcopal]  body  who  saw  the  danger  which  threatened  in  all  its 
magnitude — who  were  convinced  that  if,  while  the  throne  was  filled  by 
a  bigoted  monarch,  the  penal  statutes  against  the  Roman  Catholics 
should  be  repealed,  and  every  office  of  trust  and  authority  laid  open  to 
them,  the  superstition  of  Rome,  with  all  its  intolerance  and  all  its  slav- 
ish maxims,  would  soon  be  restored.     Laying  aside,  therefore,  their  en- 
mity to  the  Presbyterians,  they  cheerfully  joined  with  them  in  warning 
the  people ;  and  the  Synod  of  Aberdeen,  in  particular,  addressed  their  Dio- 
cesan, imploring  him  to  stand  firm  in  defence  of  the  principles  which 
the  piety  and  the  zeal  of  the  Reformers  had  after  many  struggles  intro- 
duced."    Again,  when  speaking  of  the  Scottish  Parliament  of  168G,  in 
which  the  unhappy  subject  of  the  Popish  penal  statutes  was  introduced — 
"  Ross  and  Paterson,  two  of  the  Bishops,  argued  in  favour  of  the  repeal, 
but  some  of  their  brethren  acted  a  very  different  part.     The  Arch- 
bishop of  Glasgow  with  some  timidity  opposed  the  measure  :  but  the 
Bishop  of  Galloway,  though  an  old  man,  and  the  Bishops  of  Dunkeld  and 
Ross,  made  a  determined  stand,  and  resisted  all  the  methods  which  were 
employed  to  seduce  them  from  their  duty.     Of  the  rest  of  the  prelates, 
most,  although  they  were  silent,  resolved  to  vote  against  compliance 
with  the  Court,  and  a  few  did  not  attend  ;  but   it  was  apparent  that 
there  was  the  utmost  aversion  to  repeal  the  statutes,  and  that  this  aver- 
sion was  founded  on  conscience."     And  after  King  James,  to  farther  his 
fatal  projects,  had  granted  a  toleration  in  Scotland,  DrCook  Bays:  — "  The 
Established  [Episcopal]  olergy,  notwithstanding  the  acquiessence  of 
some  of  the  Bishops,  looked  with  uneasiness  upon  the  liberty  which  all 

G 


98  HISTORY  OF  THE 

sects  now  enjoyed  [in  1687  and  1688].  Many  of  them  dreaded  ^re- 
storation of  Popery,  and  perhaps  more  apprehended  that  the  unrestrained 
efforts  of  the  Presbyterians  would  render  the  torrent  of  popular  opinion 
against  the  Hierarchy  difficult  to  be  resisted.  They  in  consequence  be- 
came discontented,  and  they  did  not  conceal  what  they  felt.  Even  the 
Council  were  irritated  at  several  of  the  King's  measures,  and  though 
they  used  the  most  submissive  language,  antipathy  to  Government  was 
daily  gaining  ground,  and  only  waited  for  a  favourable  opportunity  to 
display  its  strength."* 

It  is  farther  admitted  by  Dr  Cook,  that  it  was  the  avowed  inclination 
of  King  William  to  continue  the  Episcopal  Church  as  the  national  Es- 
tablishment : — "  Although  he  wished  that  all  should  be  permitted,  with- 
out molestation,  to  worship  God  according  to  conscience,  yet  he  thought 
it  desirable  that  the  same  form  of  church  government  should  be  esta- 
blished through  the  whole  of  Britain  ;  and  if  the  Episcopal  party  had 
now  cordially  joined  him,  if  they  had  acknowledged  him  as  their  lawful 
sovereign,  and  consented  to  those  modifications  of  Episcopacy  which  he 
contemplated,  for  including  within  the  pale  of  the  Establishment  those 
who  otherwise  would  not  have  entered  it,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  he 
would  earnestly  have  contended  for  the  continuance  of  the  Hierarchy,  and 
it  is  probable  that  by  his  influence  this  continuance  would  have  been  ac- 
complished, "t     The  truth  is,  that  William  knew  nothing  of  the  actual 
state  of  Scotland  at  the  time.     He  admitted  that  he  had  been  grossly 
misinformed  on  the  subject  when  in  Holland,  and  he  was  sufficiently 
sagacious  to  perceive  the  advantages  which  would  result  from  the  same 
ecclesiastical  establishment  being  preserved  in  the  three  kingdoms. 

On  the  19th  of  July  the  act  was  passed  "abolishing  Prelacie."  It 
sets  forth  that "  wheras  the  Estates  of  this  Kingdome,  in  their  Claime  of 
Right  of  the  eleventh  of  Aprile  last,  declared  that  Prelacie,  and  the  su- 
periority of  any  office  in  the  Church  above  Presbyters,  is,  and  hath  been, 
a  great  and  unsupportable  grievance  to  this  nation,  and  contrair  to  the 
inclinationes  of  the  generalitie  of  the  people  ever  since  the  Reformation, 
they  having  reformed  from  Poperie  by  Presbyters,  and  therefore  ought 
to  be  abolished,  our  Sovereigne  Lord  and  Lady,  the  King  and  Queen's 

*  Dr  Cook's  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  from  the  Reformation  to  the  Re- 
volution, vol.  iii.  p.  419,  420,  422,  432.  t  H»d.  p.  440. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CITUKCH.  99 

Majesties,  with  advice  and  consent  of  the  Estates  of  Parliament,  do 
hereby  abolish  Prelacie,  and  all  superioritie  of  any  office  in  the  Church 
in  this  Kingdome  above  Presbyters."  The  act  concludes — "  And  the 
King  and  Queen's  Majesties  doe  declare  that  they,  with  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Estates  of  this  Parliament,  will  settle  by  law  that  church 
government  in  this  kingdome  which  is  most  agreeable  to  the  inclina- 
tions of  the  people."* 

In  the  meantime,  the  apprehensions  of  the  Presbyterian  party,  and 
not  unlikely  the  hopes  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  and  laity,  were  not  a  little 
excited  by  the  movements  of  the  Viscount  of  Dundee.  He  had  been 
favoured  with  a  passing  notice  in  a  warrant  granted  on  the  9th  of  July, 
in  which  the  Parliament  actually  authorised  torture  to  be  used  in  the 
case  of  those  who  were  found  in  correspondence  with  him.  On  the  1st 
of  August  the  Viscount  was  ordered  to  be  personally  cited,  along  with 
the  Earl  of  Dunfermline,  before  the  Parliament,  but  by  that  time  he 
was  beyond  the  reach  of  political  strife  and  resentment.  On  the  even- 
ing of  the  29th  of  July  he  encountered  General  Mackay  and  King  Wil- 
liam's troops  at  the  head  of  the  Pass  of  Killiecrankie.  The  result  of 
that  extraordinary  conflict  is  well  known.  The  Viscount  gained  a  de- 
cisive victory,  but  received  a  mortal  wound,  and  expired  the  following- 
day.  He  is  truly  described  as  the  life  of  a  cause  which  was  annihilated 
by  his  death. 

The  Parliament  which  deposed  the  Episcopal  Church  continued  its 
session  on  the  2d  of  August.  On  the  22d  of  that  month  the  Privy 
Council,  at  the  head  of  whom  was  William  sixteenth  Earl  of  Crawford, 
a  zealous  Presbyterian,  renewed  an  order  issued  on  the  Oth,  "  allowing 
and  inviting  the  parishioners  and  hearers  of  such  ministers  as  have  ne- 
glected and  slighted  the  reading  of  the  proclamation,  and  have  not 
prayed  for  King  William  and  Queen  Mary,  to  cite  such  ministers  before 
the  Privy  Council."  This  was  a  direct  encouragement  to  the  disoon- 
tended  and  malicious  to  become  inquisitors,  and  informers  against  the 
clergy.  Citations  were  soon  prepared  ;  they  were  summoned  to  appear 
within  a  Specified  day  ;  and  those  who  refused  were  to  bo  deprived  ft* 
OCJBtamacy.  Thoso  who  oboyed,  and  came  prepared  with  det'm. 
pen  treated  in  the  most  summary  manner,  unless  they  could  prove  that 

•   Acta  Pari.  Sect.  vol.  i\.  p.  l*'4. 


100  HISTORY  OF  THE 

they  had  literally  complied  with  all  the  terms  of  the  proclamation  ;,so 
this,  says  our  venerable  historian,  "  drove  out  most  of  the  parochial  clergy 
in  the  counties  of  Berwick,  Haddington,  Edinburgh,  Linlithgow,  Stir- 
ling, and  Perth,  besides  some  in  Aberdeen  and  Moray,  who  had  been 
particularly  informed  against."* 

A  series  of  petty  and  contemptible  annoyances  were  now  inflicted 
against  the  Episcopal  clergy,  which  show  the  weakness  of  the  Government, 
and  the  despicable  means  adopted  to  eject  the  incumbents.  On  the 
14th  of  August  the  Privy  Council  appointed  a  day  of  solemn  fasting 
and  humiliation  to  be  observed  on  Sunday,  the  15th  of  September,  in  the 
Southern,  and  on  Sunday,  the  22d,  in  the  Northern  counties.  The  Privy 
Council,  as  the  writer  just  quoted  observes,  "  enforced  their  appoint- 
ment with  a  canting  proclamation,  squinting  at  Episcopacy  among  the 
sins  of  the  late  times,  and  reflecting  on  it  as  the  great  hindrance  of  the 
gospel  work  of  reformation.  This  proclamation  they  ordered  the  mini- 
sters to  read,  by  way  of  intimation  of  the  fast,  on  the  Sunday  before, 
and  on  the  Sunday  of  observance  ;  and  if  any  neglected  to  obey  this 
injunction,  as  few  who  had  any  regard  for  Episcopacy,  or  understood 
the  primitive  design  of  the  Lord's  Day,  could  with  any  good  grace  obey 
it,  they  were  sure  to  be  deprived  upon  that  score,  without  any  other 

charge  or  accusation,  "t 

On  the  19th  of  September  an  order  was  published,  "  signifying  his 
Majesty's  royal  pleasure  that  warrant  be  given  to  Alexander  Hamilton 
of  Kinkell,"  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  battle  of  Bothwell  Bridge,  to 
"  draw  and  uplift  the  tithes  and  other  rents  of  the  Archbishopric  of  St 
Andrews,  and  that  fit  persons  be  appointed  for  drawing  and  uplifting 
the  tithes  and  rents  of  the  other  bishoprics  for  this  present  crop  and 
year  of  God  1689."  By  this  proclamation,  more  oppressive  than  any 
measure  recorded  in  the  ecclesiastical  annals  of  Scotland — for  even  the 
Popish  Bishops  at  the  Reformation  were  allowed  to  retain  two-thirds  of 
their  revenues  at  their  own  valuation,  payment  of  "  any  rent  or  duty  to 
Archbishops,  Bishops,  Deans,  or  any  others  of  superior  order  and  dignity 
in  the  Church  above  presbyters,"  was  prohibited,  and  "fit  persons" 
were  appointed  to  receive  the  "  teinds,  rental  bolls,  feus,  blanch,  or  tack- 
duties,  formerly  paid  to  the  Bishops  and  others  foresaid."     This  seizure 

*  Skinner's  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii.  p.  534. 
f  Ibid.  vol.  ii.  p.  535. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  101 

of  all  the  episcopal  and  other  revenues  by  the  Exchequer,  without  allow- 
ing their  legal  possessors  the  smallest  portion  for  their  subsistence,  was 
followed  by  an  act  of  the  29th  of  December,  which  deprived  the  parochial 
incumbents  of  "  any  chance  of  recovering  their  current  stipends,  or  by- 
gone arrears,  which  were  most  unjustly  detained  from  them,  to  the  utter 
starving  of  many  a  poor  family,"  who,  if  they  had  no  private  resources, 
were  left  to  be  supported  by  the  charity  of  their  friends.* 

About  this  time  the  Scottish  Episcopalians,  among  their  other  sou- 
briquets, had  the  title  of  Jacobites  conferred  upon  them  by  their  oppo- 
nents— a  name  by  which  they  were  very  generally  known  in  the  subse- 
quent century.  It  was  not,  however,  exclusively  confined  to  them,  for 
many  Presbyterians  were  adherents  of  the  exiled  sovereign.  It  is  a 
curious  fact,  that  even  in  the  summer  of  1689,  before  the  battle  of  Kil- 
liecrankie,  when  the  courage  of  their  friends  began  to  rally,  and  their 
hopes  were  sanguine,  numbers,  who  at  the  outset  of  the  Revolution  ap- 
proved of  its  principles,  were  annoyed  at  what  was  very  generally  con- 
sidered a  violation  of  all  natural  feeling  on  the  part  of  King  William 
to  his  father-in-law.  An  alliance  was  at  one  time  meditated  between 
those  Presbyterians  who  held  very  extreme  religious  tenets  and  the 
Episcopalians — a  most  unnatural  union  if  it  had  been  accomplished — 
for  the  furtherance  of  their  political  purposes.  Both  in  England  and 
Scotland  were  many  persons  of  all  ranks,  who,  though  they  decidedly  ap- 
proved King  William's  invasion,  never  contemplated  that  he  would  assume 
the  Crown,  and  were  in  consequence  by  no  means  satisfied  with  the  new 
Government.  Among  the  Scottish  Jacobites,  as  a  political  party,  must 
also  be  included  the  Roman  Catholics,  many  of  whom  were  influential 
chief's  and  gentlemen  of  ancient  descent  in  the  Highlands  and  other 
districts,  who  considered  themselves  identified  with  the  interest  of  King 
James.  They  had  felt  little  alarm  at  that  monarch's  arbitrary  proceed- 
ings, and  not  the  less  that  he  was,  as  they  thought,  a  sufferer  for  their 

religion. 

Some  occurrences  previously  took  place,  however,  during  this  session 
whieli  must  not  be  omitted.  While  the  Parliament  was  Bitting,  almost 
extraordinary  document  was  presented  t»>  tin*  Bouse,  in  the  form  <»t' 
"  An  Bumble  Address  from  the  Presbyterian  Ministers  and  Professors 

*   Skinner's  Eccli  J  Hi  torj  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii-  |».    ' 


102  HISTOKY  OF  THE 

of  the  Church  in  Scotland."  The  Duke  of  Hamilton  thought  the  de- 
mands in  this  paper  so  unreasonable  that  he  would  not  allow  it  to  be 
laid  on  the  table,  and  its  rejection  from  such  a  quarter  caused  consider- 
able mortification.  After  this,  when  the  "  Draught  of  an  Act  for  es- 
tablishing the  Church  Government"  was  presented  to  the  House  by  order 
of  the  Court,  Presbyterianism  was  proposed  generally,  but  it  contained 
a  clause  which  gave  great  offence  to  the  party,  as  it  reflected  on  the 
conduct  of  several  of  their  leaders  in  preceding  reigns.  The  clause 
Was  : — "  In  regard  that  much  trouble  hath  ensued  unto  the  State,  and 
many  sad  confusions  have  fallen  out  in  the  Church,  by  churchmen  med- 
dling in  matters  of  state  ;  therefore  their  Majesties,  with  advice  and 
consent  aforesaid,  do  hereby  discharge  all  ministers  of  the  gospel  with- 
in this  kingdom  to  meddle  with  any  state  affairs,  either  in  their  ser- 
mons or  judicatories,  publicly  or  privately,  under  the  pain  of  being  dis- 
affected to  the  Government,  and  proceeded  against  accordingly  ;"  and 
"  it  is  declared,  that  their  Majesties,  if  they  think  fit,  may  have  always 
one  present  in  all  the  Provincial  Synods  and  Presbyterial  Assemblies, 
as  they  have  in  the  General  Assemblies,  that  in  case  any  affair  that 
concerns  the  state  or  civil  matters,  and  that  does  not  belong  to  the  ju- 
risdiction of  the  Church,  shall  come  in  before  the  said  Assemblies,  the 
said  persons  appointed  by  their  Majesties  shall  inhibit  and  discharge 
every  such  Assembly  to  proceed  in  any  such  affair  till  their  Majesties 
and  the  Privy  Council  be  acquainted  with  the  same,  that  they  may  de- 
clare their  pleasure  thereanent."  This  necessary  restriction  excited  the 
utmost  indignation  of  the  preachers,  one  of  whom  publicly  said,  that 
"  rather  than  admit  such  a  mangled  mongrel  Presbytery,  they  would 
have  the  Bishops  back  again."  By  the  influence  of  their  leaders  and 
supporters  among  the  Nobility,  such  as  the  Earls  of  Crawford  and  Suth- 
erland, Lords  Cardross  and  Ross,  and  others,  this  clause  was  withdrawn 
with  considerable  difficulty  and  opposition.* 

The  first  session  of  the  Parliament  passed  in  this  manner,  and  during 
the  interval  of  the  next  many  upon  examination  were  beginning  to 
think  that  Episcopacy  was  not  such  an  insupportable  grievance  as  it 
had  been  represented  by  the  Convention.  It  was  considered  necessary, 
therefore,  to  commence  a  crusade,  by  denouncing  it  from  the  pulpits, 

*   Skinner's  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii.  p   541,  542. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCII.  10 


n 


and  to  excite  the  prejudices  of  the  people  by  misrepresentations  and 
odious  statements.  Some  went  so  far  as  to  designate  the  Episcopal 
clergy  priests  of  Baal ;  they  were  accused  of  being  tyrannical,  obtrud- 
ing, heretical,  ignorant,  and  immoral  ;  of  wilfully  perverting  the  gospel, 
and  of  banishing  it  from  the  land  ;  of  keeping  the  country  in  a  state  of 
spiritual  darkness  many  years  ;  and  of  being  Papists,  Jesuits,  or  Jesuits 
in  disguise.  The  Scriptures  were  interpreted  to  suit  the  views  of  those 
preachers,  and  continued  allusions  were  made  to  the  examples  in  the 
Old  Testament  history,  which  were  all  applied  to  the  Episcopal  clergy. 
On  the  other  hand,  they  set  forth  the  praises  of  Presbyterianism  in  the 
highest  strains  of  panegyric  ;  they  declared  that  it  was  the  only  true  and 
scriptural  system  ;  that  they  alone  were  the  Lord's  people  ;  and  that 
Presbyterian  ministers  were  the  only  true  ministers.  They  went  among 
the  people  in  private,  endeavouring  to  imbitter  their  feelings  against 
the  clergy,  and  the  press  was  busily  employed  in  publishing  attacks 
against  the  Church.  While  the  preachers  were  thus  employed,  their 
zealous  supporters  among  the  Nobility  and  others  were  equally  active,  and 
employing  all  their  influence  in  the  same  direction.  But  the  "  Epis- 
copal writers,"  says  a  venerable  author,  "  who  were  equally  able  and 
willing  to  enter  the  lists  on  the  other  side,  might  have  as  soon  attempt- 
ed to  pull  a  star  out  of  the  firmament  as  get  one  sheet  published  in 
defence  of  that  cause,  under  the  iniquitous  pretext  of  reflecting  on  the 
civil  government,  which,  indeed,  in  that  infant  and  unsettled  state  of  it 
could  hardly  be  avoided." 

The  second  session  of  the  Parliament  met  on  the  loth  of  April  1690, 
and  as  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  had  given  some  offence  to  the  now  domi- 
nant party,  by  refusing  to  countenance  their  extreme  demands,  he  was 
superseded  by  George  first  Earl  of  Melville,  a  zealous  Presbyterian  no- 
bleman, who  had  been  so  peculiarly  obnoxious  to  King  James,  that  he 
was  one  of  a  number  of  persons  intended  to  be  exempted  from  his  A<r 
of  Indemnity.  This  nobleman  is  described  by  Smollett  as  "  weak  and 
vacillating,"  who  had  "  taken  refuge  in  Holland  from  the  violence  of 
the  late  reigns  ;  but  the  King  chiefly  depended  for  advice  upon  Dal- 
rymple,  Lord  Stair,  President  of  the  College  of  Justice,  an  old  craft j 
fanatic,  who  for  fifty  years  had  complied  in  all  things  with  all  govern 
ments."  On  the  24th  of  April  an  act  was  again  passed,  rescinding  the 
first  .-n't  of  the  second  Parliament  of  Mi*)'.*,  which  asserted  the  Kin. 


1 04  H1STOKY  OF  THE 

supremacy  in  ecclesiastical  causes,  and  also  another  act  was  passed,  "  re- 
storing the  Presbyterian  ministers  who  were  thrust  from  their  churches 
since  the  1st  of  January  1G61."    By  this  act  they  were  to  have  "  forth- 
with free  access  to  their  churches,  that  they  may  presently  exercise  the 
ministry  in  these  parishes  without  any  new  call  thereto  ;   and  allows 
them  to  bruike  and  enjoy  the  benefices  and  stipends  thereunto  belong- 
ing, and  that  for  the  haill  crop  1689  ;  and  immediately  to  enter  to  the 
churches  and  manses,  where  the  churches  are  vacant ;  and  where  they 
are  not  vacant,  then  their  entry  thereto  is  declared  to  be  to  the  half  of 
the  benefice  and  stipend  due  and  payable  at  Martinmas  last,  for  the  half 
year  immediatelie  preceding,  betuixt  Whitsunday  and  Michailmas,  de- 
claring that  the  present  [Episcopal]  incumbent  shall  have  right  to  the 
other  half  of  the  stipend  and  benefice,  payable  for  the  Whitsunday  last 
bypast :  And  to  the  effect  that  these  ministers  may  meet  with  no  stop 
or  hinderance  in  entering  immediately  to  their  charges,  the  present 
[Episcopal]  incumbents  in  such  churches  are  hereby  appointed,  upon  in 
timation,  to  desist  from  their  ministry  in  these  parishes,  and  to  remove 
themselves  from  the  manses  and  glebes  thereunto  belonging,  betwixt 
and  Whitsunday  next  to  come,  that  the  Presbyterian  ministers  formerly 
put  out  may  enter  peaceably  thereto."*      This  act  was  ordered  to  be 
proclaimed  at  the  Cross  of  Edinburgh  on  the  12th  of  May.t 

A  Committee  was  appointed  to  seal  the  doom  of  the  Episcopal  Esta- 
blishment, and  prepare  a  bill  for  the  settlement  of  the  Presbyterian 
polity,  which  was  presented  on  the  23d  of  May,  on  which  day  the  West- 
minster Confession  of  Faith  was  ordered  to  be  brought  in  by  the  Clerk- 
Register.  On  the  26th  that  Confession,  notwithstanding  its  length,  was 
"  read  and  considered  word  by  word  ; "  and  on  the  7th  of  June  the  act 
was  passed  "ratifying  the  Confession  of  Faith,  and  settling  Presby- 
terian Church  Government."  This  act  ratified  the  act  of  the  former  ses- 
sion abolishing  Episcopacy,  confirmed  all  acts  made  against  Popery 
and  Papists,  sanctioned  and  established  the  Westminster  Confession  of 
Faith  as  the  "public  and  allowed  Confession  of  this  Church,  containing 
the  sum  and  substance  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Reformed  Churches  ;"  es- 
tablished, ratified,  and  confirmed  the  "  Presbyterian  Church  Govern- 
ment and  Discipline  by  Kirk  Sessions,  Presbyteries,  Provincial  Synods, 

*   Acta  Pari.  Scot,  vol    ix.  p.  111.  t   Ibid.  vol.  i.x.  p.  1  15. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUKCH.  105 

and  General  Assemblies  ;  " — "  rescinding,  annulling,  and  making  void, 
four  acts  of  James  VI.  and  five  of  Charles  II.,  with  all  other  acts,  laws, 
statutes,  ordinances,  and  proclamations,  in  as  far  as  they  are  contrary 
or  prejudicial  to,  or  inconsistent  with,  or  derogatory  from,  the  Protest- 
ant religion  and  Presbyterian  Government  now  established  ;"  appoint- 
ing the  "  first  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  of  this  Church,  as  above 
established,  to  be  at  Edinburgh  on  the  third  Thursday  of  October,  in 
this  present  year  1690  ;"  and,  "that  the  disorders  which  have  happen- 
ed in  this  Church  may  be  redressed,  they  allow  the  general  meeting  and 
representatives  of  the  foresaid  Presbyterian  ministers  and  elders,  either 
by  themselves,  or  by  visitors  authorised  by  them,  to  try  and  purge  out 
all  insufficient,  negligent,  scandalous,  and  erroneous  ministers,  by  due 
course  of  ecclesiastical  process  and  censures  ;  ordaining,  that  whatever 
minister,  being  summoned  before  those  visitors,  shall  refuse  to  appear, 
or  on  appearing  shall  be  found  guilty  by  them,  every  such  minister 
shall  by  their  sentence  be  ipso  facto  suspended  from  or  deprived  of  their 
kirks,  stipends,  and  benefices." 

The  reader  is  already  aware  that  the  "ministers"  here  designated 
"  insufficient,  negligent,  scandalous,  and  erroneous,"  or  whom  the  in- 
quisitorial  visitors  were  authorised  to  consider  as  such,  were  the  Epis- 
copal clergy  ;  and  as  the  Committee  who  prepared  the  act  were  assisted 
by  the  most  conspicuous  and  noted  of  the  Presbyterian  preachers,  the 
suggesters  of  these  very  charitable  epithets  may  be  easily  inferred.  The 
act,  parts  of  which  are  inserted  above,  was  twice  read  to  the  Parlia- 
ment, and  several  of  its  articles  keenly  discussed.  The  petition  had  de- 
Bired  the  establishment  of  the  Westminster  Directory  and  Catechisms, 
as  well  as  the  Confession  of  Faith,  but  the  reading  of  the  latter  had  oc- 
cupied  so  much  time  that  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  protested  against  hear- 
ing any  more  of  such  mystical,  tiresome,  and  incomprehensible  compo- 
sitions ;  and  as  the  Presbyterians  had  by  this  time  discovered  that  the 
Directory  recommended  the  regular  reading  of  the  Scriptures  and  the 
use  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  the  public  congregation,both  of  which  prac- 
tices they  condemned  as  superstitious,  the  objection  of  his  Grace  was 
sustained.     That  clause  in  the  act  which  placed  the  entire  ecclesiastical 

wernment  in  the  hands  of  the  preachers  expelled  in  1661  from  be 
notices  of  which,  during  Cromwell's  domination,  they  had  possessed 
themselves  in  violation  of  the  law,  and  in  defiance  ol  the  rights  of  private 


106  history  or  the 

property,*  was  the  subject  of  much  debate.  A  petition  was  presented 
from  those  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  who  were  disposed  to  transfer  their  al- 
legiance to  King  William,  but  it  was  unceremoniously  rejected,  chiefly 
because  they  offered  to  defend  Episcopacy  against  the  Presbyterians — a 
challenge  which  the  Earl  of  Melville  considered  in  the  highest  degree 
presumptuous,  and  which  was  on  no  account  to  be  permitted. 

A  member  proposed  that  at  least  those  ministers  then  alive,  who  had 
been  deposed  by  their  own  "judicatories"  before  the  re-establishment  of 
Episcopacy  at  the  Revolution,  should  not  be  included  among  the  num- 
ber of  those  who  were  become  judges  by  this  act.  This  amendment 
was  also  rejected,  though  strenuously  supported  by  the  Duke  of  Hamil- 
ton :  "  For  what  was  this,"  his  Grace  said,  "but  instead  of  fourteen 
prelatical  Bishops,  to  give  unlimited  authority  to  fifty  or  sixty  Presby- 
terian ones,  from  whom  the  Episcopal  clergy  could  expect  little  justice 
and  less  meroy  ?"  The  debate  upon  the  hardships  inflicted  on  those  of 
the  clergy  who  had  been  expelled  from  their  benefices  by  the  mob  was 
particularly  strong.  The  incumbents  had  been  most  maliciously  and 
falsely  represented  as  having  deserted  their  parishes,  that  the  violence 
of  the  mob  might  be  mitigated,  and  the  atrocity  of  their  conduct  con- 
cealed, softened,  or  justified.  In  supporting  a  supplication  from  those 
unfortunate  clergymen  presented  by  Sir  Patrick  Scott  of  Ancrum,  the 
Duke  of  Hamilton  thus  expressed  himself: — "  It  was  wonderful  to  call 
these  men  deserters,  when  it  was  notorious  all  the  kingdom  over  that 
they  were  driven  away  by  the  most  barbarous  violence  ;  and  it  was  no 
less  wonderful  to  declare  their  churches  vacant,  because  of  their  being 
removed  from  them.  For  what  could  be  the  sense  of  the  word  removed, 
in  this  case,  but  neither  more  nor  less  than  rabbled  ;  and  what  might 
the  world  think  of  the  justice  of  the  Parliament,  if  it  should  sustain  that 
as  a  sufficient  ground  for  declaring  their  churches  vacant?"  But  not- 
withstanding all  the  arguments  and  remonstrances  of  the  Duke,  the 
claim  in  the  act  was  carried  by  a  considerable  majority.  The  Duke  in- 
dignantly told  the  House  that  he  was  "  sorry  he  should  have  ever  sat  in 

*  u  For  which  illegal  intrusion  it  was,"  says  Mr  Skinner,  whose  excellent  digest  I 
chiefly  follow  in  the  text  of  this  part  of  the  present  work,  "  and  not  on  the  score  of 
non-conformity  or  non-compliance,  that  they  lost  what  they  never  had  a  just  title  to, 
so  could  not  be  restored  to  such  possession  without  homologating  the  injustice  by  which 
they  first  obtained  them." — Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii.  p-  545. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  107 

a  Scottish  Parliament  where  such  naked  iniquity  was  to  be  established 
into  a  law—  that  it  was  impossible  Presbyterian  government  could 
stand,  being  built  upon  such  a  foundation  ;  and  it  grieved  him  to  the 
heart  to  consider  what  a  reflection  this  act  would  bring  upon  the  Go- 
vernment, and  justice  of  the  House."  His  Grace  immediately  retired, 
followed  by  several  members  ;  and  when  it  was  proposed  to  vote  the 
whole  act  entire,  the  Duke  of  Queensberry,  the  Earls  of  Linlithgow  and 
Balcarras,  and  many  gentlemen,  also  withdrew,  and  would  not  vote. 
Only  a  few  remained  to  vote  against  the  act — one  part  of  them  to  pre- 
vent the  boast  that  Presbyterianism  had  been  established  without  op- 
position ;  and  another,  who  advocated  the  Cameronian  or  extreme  prin- 
ciples, because  it  was  not  established  in  what  they  considered  its  full 
power  and  independency — in  other  words,  an  imperium  in  imperio, 
above  all  law,  responsibility,  and  control.  The  act  was  prepared  on 
the  28th  of  May  for  the  royal  assent,  which  it  received  on  the  7th  of 
June  1690,  and  "  so  obtained,"  observes  Mr  Skinner,  "  that  force  and 
authority  which  it  has  retained  ever  since." 

If  it  be  a  matter  of  surprise  that  such  an  important  act  did  not  en- 
counter greater  opposition,  it  must  be  remembered  that  almost  the 
whole  Episcopal  nobility  and  gentry  had  retired  to  their  country  seats, 
in  discontent  and  disaffection  to  the  new  Government,  both  political  and 
ecclesiastical ;  the  Bishops  were  in  concealment,  or,  as  the  Viscount  of 
Dundee  observed  in  a  letter  some  time  before  the  battle  of  Killiecrankie, 
the  Church  was  invisible.  On  the  29th  of  May,  indeed,  the  Earl  of  Lin- 
lithgow proposed  to  the  House  a  draught  of  an  act  "  for  giving  tolera- 
tion to  those  of  the  Episcopal  persuasion  to  worship  God  after  their  own 
manner,  and  particularly  that  whoso  were  inclined  to  use  the  English 
Liturgy  might  do  it  safely."*  This  Mas  allowed  to  be  read,  but  no 
farther  notice  of  it  was  taken. 

On  the  4th  of  July  an  act  was  passed  for  visiting  the  Universities  and 
>«-hools,  prohibiting  all  persons  from  being  eligible  to  any  professorship  or 
Bohool  within  the  kingdom  who  did  not  subscribe  the  Confession  of  Faith, 

comply  with  the  Presbyterian  form  of  government,  and  take  the  oath  ol 

•  "Which  shows,  Mr  Skinner,  "thai  though  onr  clergy  had  do  authoi 

form  imposed  opon  them,  they  had  do  aversion  t>>  Bel  forms,  l>ut  were  soqaainted 
with,  and  willing  t<>  make  use  of,  1 1 1 « -  English   I5n<>k." — Ecclesiastical   Historj 

otland,   \ "!.  ii  p.  660. 


108  HISTORY  OF  THE 

allegiance,  excluding  all  persons  then  in  office  who  did  not  so  "  acknow- 
ledge and  confess."  Fifteen  noblemen,  twenty-eight  gentlemen,  and 
twenty  of  the  newly  established  Presbyterian  ministers,  were  appointed 
to  be  visitors,  "  with  full  power  and  commission  to  them,  or  a  quorum 
of  them,  to  meet,  visit,  take  trial,  purge  out,  and  remove,  according  to 
the  foresaid  qualifications."  They  were  ordered  to  meet  on  the  23d  of 
July,  and  to  continue  or  adjourn,  according  to  their  convenience,  during 
the  royal  pleasure.  On  the  19th  of  July,  however,  an  act  was  passed 
which  gave  great  dissatisfaction  to  some  of  the  Presbyterian  preachers, 
because  it  deprived  them  of  the  capricious  power  of  annoying  and  per- 
secuting the  deposed  clergy.  After  rescinding,  in  general,  all  former  acts, 
and  parts  and  provisions  in  any  act,  since  1661  inclusive,  against  non- 
conformity, or  for  conformity  to  the  Church,  as  established  under  and 
governed  by  Archbishops  and  Bishops,  the  Parliament  ''rescind,  cass, 
and  annul,  all  acts  for  denouncing  excommunicate  persons,  and  anent 
sentences  of  excommunication  ;  with  all  other  sentences  of  the  same  im- 
port, and  without  prejudice  of  this  generality,  all  acts  enjoining  civil  pains 
upon  sentences  of  excommunication  whatever."  On  the  same  day  two 
acts  were  also  passed — one  vesting  the  superiorities  and  other  casualties 
which  formerly  belonged  to  the  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Crown ;  the  other 
is  quaintly  entitled  "  An  Act  or  Commission  for  Plantation  of  Kirks  and 
Valuation  of  Teinds,"  purporting  to  be  founded  on  sundry  laws  passed  in 
1633  by  Charles  I.,  all  of  which,  engrossed  together,  are  called  a  good 
ivork,  which  their  Majesties  "are  resolved  to  prosecute  for  the  universal 
good  of  their  subjects,  and  especially  for  the  encouragement  of  the  mini- 
sters of  the  gospel."  Having  finally  deposed  the  ancient  Church,  and 
completely  established  Presbyterianism,  the  Parliament  concluded  its 
labours,  and  rose  on  the  22d  day  of  July. 

The  manner  in  which  these  acts  were  put  in  operation  and  enforced 
must  now  be  noticed.  Beginning  with  the  Commissioners  for  visiting  the 
Universities,  which  were  the  first  objects  to  which  they  directed  their 
attention,  they  met  at  Edinburgh  on  the  23d  of  July,  and  divided  them- 
selves into  four  committees,  one  for  each  of  the  four  Universities,  to 
make  purgation,  who  proceeded  to  the  several  seats  of  these  institutions, 
St  Andrews,  Glasgow,  Aberdeen,  and  Edinburgh.  The  commission 
for  St  Andrews  consisted  of  sixteen  persons,  among  whom  were  the 
Earls  of  Crawford,    Morton,   Cas.iillis,   and   Kintore,  several  country 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  109 

gentlemen,  and  a  few  Presbyterian  ministers.  The  visitation  was  con- 
ducted by  the  zealous  Earl  of  Crawford  as  President,  This  Univer- 
sity then  consisted  of  three  Colleges,  St  Salvador's,  St  Leonard's  (now 
united  to  the  former),  and  St  Mary's.  The  Principals,  Professors,  and 
Masters,  having  positively  refused  to  conform  to  Presbyterianism  and 
sign  the  Confession  of  Faith,  were  all  ejected  on  the  25th  of  September, 
and  their  places  in  course  of  time  filled  by  persons  of  the  new  Presby- 
terian principles.  We  are  told  that  the  Earl  of  Crawfurd  "  acted  with 
remarkable  harshness  and  severity,  and  was  much  blamed  even  by  his 
friends  for  his  rough  uncivil  behaviour  to  the  Masters,  particularly  the 
reverend  Dean,  Dr  Wemyss,  Principal  of  St  Leonard's  College,  who 
had  been  a  regent  forty-five  years,  and  taught  Crawfurd  his  philosophy  ; 
yet  my  Lord  would  not  allow  him  the  favour  of  a  seat,  and  when  the 
old  man's  infirmities  obliged  him  to  rest  on  the  step  of  a  stair,  lie  sent 
an  officer  of  court,  and  made  him  stand."* 

The  Commission  to  purge  the  University  of  Glasgow  was  composed 
of  sixteen  persons,  among  whom  were  the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  the  Mar- 
quis of  Argyll,  the  Viscount  Stair,  and  Lord  Carmichael,  the  others  being 
country  gentlemen,  and  an  adjunct  of  Presbyterian  preachers.  The 
visitation  of  the  University  of  Glasgow  was  superintended  by  Lord 
Carmichael,  who,  though  a  zealous  Presbyterian,  is  characterized  as  a 
"  man  of  temper  and  good  breeding."  Dr  James  Fall,  Principal, 
and  three  of  the  Professors,  were  ejected,  among  the  latter  of  whom  was 
Dr  James  Wemyss,  Professor  of  Divinity.  It  ought  to  have  been  men- 
tioned, that  on  the  last  day  of  November  1G88,  the  Earl  of  Loudon 
and  several  others,  then  students  in  the  University,  thought  proper  to 
burn  in  effigy  the  Pope  and  the  Archbishops  of  St  Andrews  and  Glas- 
gow without  any  opposition.! 

At  Aberdeen,  however,  the  Presbyterian  commission  was  by  no  means 
so  active  as  those  in  the  southern  and  western  Universities.  This  was 
probably  on  account  of  the  known  attachment  of  the  citizens,  and  in- 
deed of  the  great  mass  of  the  population  of  tho  counties  north  of  the 
Tay,  to  Episcopacy.  Probably  the  members  of  the  commission  irere 
in»t  OYer-zealoufl  in  the  discharge  of  the  duty  they  had  undertaken  ;  for 

•   Skinner's  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii.  p.  556. 
f  Cleland'a  Annals  of  Glasgow,  roL  ii.  p.  •"><». 


110  HISTORY  OF  THE 

although  some  of  them,  Lord  Cardross,  and  probably  Lord  Elphin- 
stone,  were,  with  the  five  Presbyterian  ministers  associated  with  them, 
most  zealous  for  the  new  system  of  church  government,  there  were  others 
who  were  avowed  members  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  among  whom 
were  the  Earl  Marischal,  the  Viscount  of  Arbuthnot,  the  Master  of 
Forbes,  Brodie  of  Brodie,  and  Grant  of  Grant.  We  find  Dr  George 
Middleton,  who  was  appointed  Principal  of  King's  College  in  1684,  re- 
taining his  office  till  1717,  when  he  was  ejected  for  being  disaffected  to 
the  House  of  Hanover.  The  northern  University  was,  in  short,  per- 
mitted to  remain  in  the  possession  of  the  Episcopal  Professors,  either 
from  inability  on  the  part  of  the  commission  to  procure  their  ejection, 
or  from  some  other  cause  which  is  not  recorded. 

It  is  mentioned  by  Arnot,  respecting  those  Presbyterian  commissions 
to  purge,  as  they  called  it,  the  Scottish  Universities  of  all  Episcopal 
Professors — "  From  such  specimens  of  their  conduct  in  a  visitorial 
capacity  as  we  have  been  able  to  discover,  we  are  entitled  to  say  that 
those  parliamentary  visitors  proceeded  with  great  violence  and  injus- 
tice."* In  no  University  city  was  this  more  conspicuous  than  in 
Edinburgh.  Proclamation  was  made,  and  printed  edicts  posted,  at  the 
Cross  and  on  the  College  gates  ;  as  also  in  Stirling,  Haddington,  and 
other  provincial  towns,  charging  the  Principal  and  Professors  of  the 
University,  and  the  schoolmasters  of  the  city,  county,  and  neighbouring 
counties,  to  appear  before  the  committee  of  visitors  on  the  20th  of  Au- 
gust 1690,  to  answer  upon  the  points  contained  in  the  act  of  Parliament ; 
also  summoning  and  warning  all  the  lieges  who  have  anything  to  object 
against  the  said  Principal  and  Professors,  and  others,  to  appear  before  them 
on  the  said  day  and  place  to  give  in  objections.  "  After  an  edict, "  observes 
Arnot,  "  which  bespoke  that  the  country,  although  it  had  been  subjected 
to  a  revolution,  had  not  acquired  a  system  of  liberty,  nor  the  rudiments 
of  justice — after  an  invitation  so  publicly  thrown  out  by  the  commis- 
sioners of  Parliament  in  a  nation  distracted  by  religious  and  political 
factions,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  informers  would  be  wanting."! 

Sir  John  Hall,  Bart,  of  Dunglass,   Lord  Provost  of  the  city,  sat  as 
President  of  the  Commission,!  which  consisted  altogether  of  sixteen 

♦  History  of  Edinburgh,  4to,  p.  393. 

t  Ibid.  p.  394- 

i  This  gentleman  had  been  created  a  Baronet  in  1687  by  King  James  II. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  Ill 

persons,  among  whom  we  find  the  Earl  of  Lothian,  Lord  Ruthven, 
several  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  some  well  known  Presb)  - 
terian  ministers — James  Kirkton,  Gilbert  Rule,  and  others.  The 
whole  proceedings  of  this  remarkably  tyrannical  and  unjust  commission 
were  published  in  the  following  year  (1691),  in  a  pamphlet  which  is  now 
rare,  entitled"  The  Presbyterian  Inquisition,  as  it  was  lately  practised 
against  the  Professors  of  the  College  of  Edinburgh,  August  and  Sep- 
tember 1690."*  The  motto  affixed  is  most  appropriate,  being  the  23d 
verse  of  the  19th  Psalm : — "  For  the  mouth  of  the  wicked  and  the 
mouth  of  the  deceitful  are  opened  against  me  ;  they  have  spoken  against 
me  with  a  lying  tongue  ;  they  compassed  me  about  also  with  words  of 
hatred,  and  fought  against  me  without  a  cause." 

The  Commission  assembled  in  what  was  then  called  the  Upper  Hall 
of  the  old  College,  every  part  of  which  is  now  supplanted  by  the  present 
University  Buildings,  and  the  Principal  and  Professors  met  in  the  Li- 
brary. After  waiting  some  time,  the  latter  were  at  last  informed  that 
the  investigation  would  be  delayed  for  a  week,  as  it  was  intended  to  make 
purgation  of  the  schoolmasters,  many  of  whom  resided  a  considerable 
distance  from  the  city ;  but  in  reality  the  libels  against  the  Principal 
and  Professors  were  not  then  sufficiently  prepared.  On  the  day  ap- 
pointed the  Commission  of  visitors  met,  and  the  first  object  of  attack 
was.  the  reverend  Principal,  Dr  Alexander  Monro,  repeatedly  men- 
tioned in  a  previous  part  of  this  narrative. 

The  reader  will  naturally  wish  to  know  some  particulars  of  the  life  of 
this  excellent  and  learned  clergyman,  before  perusing  the  extraordinary 
articles  drawn  up  against  him  by  the  "  Inquisition."  These  few  par- 
ticulars may  be  briefly  stated.  Dr  Monro  was  educated  at  St  Andrews, 
or  at  least,  as  he  states  himself,  he  received  his  degree  there  in  1682  : 
lie  had  spent  much  of  his  time  abroad,  and  was  known  to  be  a  good 
scholar,  and  a  man  of  talent.t  He  was  appointed  Principal  of  the 
University  on  the  9th  of  December  1685,  which  he  held  with  the  incum- 
bency of  the  High  Church  of  Edinburgh.     It  is  remarkable  that  the 

•  "  In  which,"  continual  the  title-page,  " the  spirit  of  Pwnbytery,  and  their  Pi 
•enl  Method  of  Procedure,  are  plainly  dJscorered,  Matter  of  Fact  bj  undeniable  in- 
stances cleared,  and  Libel*  again*!  particular  Persons  discussed."—  Lid  meed  Nov. 
ber  12,  1691.   London,  4to,  pp.  100. 

f  Bower'-  History  of  the  Univ.-rsity  of  Edinburgh,  vol.  i.  p    .'109. 


112  HISTORY  OF  THE 

declaration  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  presented  to  the  magistrates  of 
the  city  by  Dr  Monro  on  the  13th  of  February  1689,*  instead  of  being 
sent  directly  to  them  by  the  Government.  The  history  of  this  curious 
transaction  is  now  lost,  but  Dr  Monro  performed  his  part  of  the  duty, 
and  resigned  the  incumbency  of  the  High  Church  in  the  month  of  May. 
After  his  deprivation  of  the  office  of  Principal,  Dr  Monro  officiated  as 
an  Episcopal  clergyman  in  Edinburgh,  and  died  much  respected  in 
1715.  "It  has  been  frequently  alleged,"  says  Bower,  "  but  I  think 
without  sufficient  evidence,  that  Dr  Monro,  upon  his  expulsion  from  the 
College,  carried  away  with  him  several  of  the  records.  Party  spirit  at 
that  time  ran  so  high,  that  it  was  quite  common  for  recriminations  of 
this  kind  to  be  exchanged  upon  a  very  slight  foundation." 

Principal  Monro  was  more  obnoxious  to  the  Presbyterians  than  any 
of  his  colleagues.  He  was  their  ablest  polemical  opponent  in  the  capital, 
or  perhaps  south  of  the  Forth.  Respecting  the  articles  exhibited 
against  him,  some,  it  will  be  seen,  are  of  a  very  trifling  nature  ;  others, 
if  they  had  been  proved,  involved  his  moral  character  ;  but  the  great 
charge  was  his  disaffection  to  the  Revolution,  and  his  undisguised  at- 
tachment to  the  exiled  family.  It  appears  that  a  Professor  named  An- 
drew Massie  became  remarkably  officious  on  this  occasion  to  ingratiate 
himself  with  the  prevailing  Government.  This  gentleman  had  been  a 
regent  in  the  University  of  Aberdeen  before  he  came  to  Edinburgh. 
"  His  compliance  with  the  politics  of  the  times,"  says  Bower,  "  was 
very  accommodating.  He  was  also  accused  of  want  of  discipline,  great 
carelessness  in  the  discharge  of  his  public  duty,  and  his  general  conduct 
so  notorious  that  it  was  even  the  subject  of  common  conversation  among 
the  students.  Representations  against  him  were  given  in  to  the  Visitors, 
upon  which  they  pronounced  no  judgment,  because,  according  to  the 
Episcopal  party,  he  had  taken  the  oaths  to  the  new  Government ;  yet 
two  gentlemen,  the  one  a  Doctor  of  Medicine,  and  the  other  a  Master 
of  Arts,  had  given  this  information. "  t  We  are  told  that  tradition  as- 
cribes this  interference  on  the  part  of  the  "  Doctor  of  Medicine"  to  the 
celebrated  Dr  Archibald  Pitcairne,  or  to  Dr  Sibbald,  afterwards  known 
as  Sir  Robert  Sibbald,  both  eminent  men  in  their  day. 

*  Records  of  the  Town  Council  of  Edinburgh,  MSS.  vol.  xxxii.  p.  297. 
•f  Bower's  History  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  vol.  i.  p.  315. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  113 

The  articles  exhibited  against  the  Principal  were  ten  iii  number,  and 
to  the  following  effect — the  first  of  which  shows  that  the  visitors  acted 
as  if  the j  had  been  anxious  to  associate  the  Episcopal  Church  with 
Popery,  and  therefore,  in  the  libels  put  into  the  hands  of  Dr  Monro  and 
others  they  are  directly  charged  with  both.  The  First  article  is — "  That 
he  renounced  the  Protestant  religion  in  a  church  beyond  seas,  and  sub- 
scribed himself  a  Papist."  The  Second  contains  some  alleged  instances 
in  proof  of  this  which  occurred  respecting  the  students  in  the  College. 
Third — "  That  he  set  up  the  English  Liturgy  within  the  gates  of  the 
College — a  form  of  worship  never  allowed  in  this  nation  ;  and  though  it 
were  tolerated,  yet  no  toleration  allows  any  of  different  form  of  worship 
from  the  State  to  enjoy  legal  benefices  in  the  church,  or  charge  in  the 
University.  Fourth,  The  act  for  visitation  of  Colleges  requires  that 
none  carry  charge  in  them  but  such  as  be  well  affected  to  the  Govern- 
ment in  Church  and  State :  but  so  it  is,  that  it  is  well  known  by  all 
who  know  Dr  Monro,  that  he  is  highly  disaffected  to  both,  as  appears  by 
a  missive  letter  written  by  him  to  the  late  Archbishop  of  St  Andrews, 
dated  the  oth  day  of  January  1689,  and  which  may  also  appear  by  his 
leaving  the  charge  of  the  ministry  [resigning  the  incumbency  of  the 
High  Church]  to  them,  not  praying  for  King  William  and  Queen  Mary, 
and  his  rejoicing  the  day  that  the  news  of  Claverhouse*  his  victory 
came  to  town  ;  and  how  much  he  dislikes  the  present  government  of  the 
Church  may  appear  by  the  bitter  persecuting  of  all  that  persuasion  to 
the  utmost  of  his  power."  Here  several  alleged  instances  were  pro- 
duced. Fifth — "  At  the  late  public  laureation  [graduation]  he  sat  and 
publicly  heard  the  Confession  of  Faith,  after  it  had  been  approved  in 
Parliament,  ridiculed  by  Dr  Pitcairne  ;  yea,  the  existence  of  God  im- 
pugned, without  any  answer  or  vindication.  Sixth,  He  caused  take 
down  out  of  the  Library  all  the  pictures  of  the  Protestant  Reformers  ; 
and  when  quarrelled  by  some  of  the  magistrates,  gave  this  answer — 
'  That  the  sight  of  them  might  not  be  offensive  to  the  Chancellor,  when 
he  came  to  visit  the  College.'  Seventh,  When  Mr  Cunninghame  had 
composed  his  eucharist'w\  verses  on  the  Prince  of  Wales,  he  not  only 
approved  of  them,   but  presented  them  to  the  Chancellor  with  his  own 

•  The  Viscount  <>f  Dondee'a  victory  over  General  Maekay  at  KilKecrankie. 
f  This  word  most  mean  ndogutic  rereea  in  praise  of  the  son  of  Jsjnei  II.,  father 
of  Prince  Charles  Edward  Btnart. 

u 


/ 


114  HISTORY  OF  THE 

hand.  Eighth,  That  the  said  Doctor  is  given  sometimes  to  cursing  and 
swearing.  Ninth,  That  the  Doctor  is  an  ordinary  neglecter  of  the  wor- 
ship of  God  in  his  family. "  The  Tenth  accused  him  of  baptizing  a 
child  in  a  neighbouring  parish  without  intimating  it  to  the  parish  mi- 
nister. 

Such  were  the  articles  exhibited  against  the  excellent,  pious,  and 
learned  Principal  Monro.  He  answered  readily  the  two  first  charges, 
but  when  he  heard  them  reading  the  remainder,  which  appeared  to  him 
to  be  a  long  list  of  accusations  which  he  was  conscious  were  false  and 
malicious,  he  complained  of  such  an  unjust  and  illegal  procedure,  desired 
to  know  his  accusers,  and  time  to  prepare  his  defences.  Dr  Monro  was 
accordingly  presented  with  a  copy  of  the  information  against  him,  which 
he  found  not  subscribed  or  authenticated  by  any  individual,  and  a  few 
days  were  allowed  him  to  give  in  answers  to  the  charges.  The  answers 
are  printed  in  the  "  Presbyterian  Inquisition." 

To  the  first  charge  Principal  Monro  replied,  that  it  was  a  "  spiteful 
and  malicious  calumny"  that  he  had  turned  Papist  beyond  seas,  ap- 
pealed to  all  who  had  known  him  for  the  previous  twenty  years  of  his 
public  life,  reminding  the  inquisitors  that  it  was  "  impossible  to  be  or- 
dained a  presbyter  of  our  Church  without  renouncing  Popery  ;  and 
our  ecclesiastical  superiors,  who  ordained  priests  and  deacons  according 
to  the  forms  of  the  Church  of  England  always  since  the  Restitution 
[Restoration],  took  care,  I  hope,  to  distinguish  Papists  and  Protestants 
by  the  most  solemn  oath  and  national  tests."  He  moreover  asks — 
"  What  good  evidence  for  my  being  inclined  to  Popery  ?  Had  I  not 
a  fair  opportunity  to  take  off  the  mask  some  years  before  the  Revolution  ? 
Was  it  any  of  the  sermons  I  preached  against  Popery  in  the  High 
Church  of  Edinburgh,  and  in  the  Abbey  of  Holyroodhouse,  when  our 
zealous  reformers  were  very  quiet,  to  all  which  some  hundreds  of  the  best 
quality  of  the  nation  were  witnesses  ?  But  as  I  have  been  in  France, 
/  must  therefore  behove  to  be  a  Papist,  and  this  is  enough  for  this  libel- 
ler.    I  am  very  sure  none  of  the  Papists  ever  thought  me  one."* 


*  We  are  told  that  "  this  article  was  let  fall,  for  after  all  their  industry  they  could 
say  nothing  upon  that  head,  and  no  report  of  it  was  made  to  the  commission  of  the  Ge- 
neral Visitation." — Presbyterian  Inquisition,  p.  30.  It  was  a  common  trick  of  the 
Presbyterians  of  those  times  to  accuse  the  Episcopal  clergy  of  Popery,  and  this  was 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  115 

The  second  charge  was  connected  with  the  first,  and  entered  into 
particulars,  all  of  which  the  reverend  Principal  explained  in  a  satisfac- 
tory manner.  The  third  accusation — the  formidable  one  of  reading  the 
Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England  in  his  own  family — he  admitted,  and 
on  this  subject  a  few  of  his  observations  are  interesting.  "  The  libel- 
ler," whom  Dr  Monro  suspected  to  be  Gilbert  Rule,  one  of  the  visitors, 
and  his  Presbyterian  successor  as  Principal,  "  forgets  that  this  quite 
frustrates  his  first  attempt.  They  must  be  odd  kind  of  Papists  who 
read  the  service  of  the  Church  of  England  on  the  5th  of  November. 
But  the  libeller  adds  that  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  was  never  al- 
lowed here  [in  Scotland]  since  the  Reformation.  Does  he  mean  that 
the  service  of  the  Church  of  England  was  used  here  before  the  Refor- 
mation ?  The  Book  of  Common  Prayer  was  read  in  many  families  in 
Scotland  even  since  the  restitution  of  King  Charles  II.,  and  publicly 
read  in  the  Abbey  of  Holyroodhouse  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  But 
upon  inquiry  it  will  be  found  that  they  were  the  first  prayers  read  in 
Scotland  after  the  Reformation,  for  Buchanan  tells  us  so  expressly,  and 
his  testimony  is  the  more  remarkable  that  the  Confession  of  Faith  was 
ratified  in  Parliament  that  very  year.*  But  the  plain  matter  of  fact  is 
this.  When  I  left  off  preaching  in  the  High  Church,  I  advised  with 
some  of  my  brethren,  and  the  result  was,  that  we  should  read  the  Book 
of  Common  Prayer,  and  preach  within  our  families,  per  vices,  since 
most  of  them  were  acquainted  with  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land ;  neither  did  we  think,  when  Quakers  and  all  other  sects  were  to- 
lerated, that  we  should  be  blamed  for  reading  those  prayers  within  our 
private  families  which  we  prefer  to  all  other  forms  now  used  in  the 
Christian  Church.  Nor  had  we  any  design  to  proselytize  the  people  to 
any  thing  they  had  no  mind  to,  else  I  might  have  read  the  Liturgy  in 
one  of  the  public  schools  within  the  College,  and  it  must  not  be  said 
that  we  were  afraid  to  venture  upon  the  public  exercise  of  it  because  of 

MM  of   their  successful  attempts  in  the  western  counties  of  Scotland  to  excite  the 
people  igtiost  the  Church. 

•   The   v<ar  lo()7,  and  the  Old  Confession  is  here  meant.      This  fact,  quoted  bjf 

Principal  .Mourn,  is  thus  stated  \>\  Buchanan,  who,  whatever  he  was  in   religion,  ff|| 

not  an  K;>is<  "pal'ian  : — H  Scoti  ante  aliquot  annos  Anglorum  auxiliis  e  servitutc  Galliea 

liherati  religion!!  cultui  et  ritihus  cum  Anglis  communihus  scripserunt." — Hist.  Scot. 

Lib.   \ix. 


11(5  HISTOKY  OF  THE 

the  rabble,  for  during  the  session  of  the  College  it  is  very  well  known 
in  the  city  that  the  mobile  durst  not  presume  to  give  us  the  least  disturb- 
ance. But  the  matter  succeeded  beyond  what  we  proposed  or  looked  for. 
We  preached  to  the  people  upon  the  Sundays.  They  came  by  hundreds 
more  than  we  had  room  for,*  and  very  many  became  acquainted  with 
the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  perceived  by  their  own  expe- 
rience that  there  was  neither  Popery  nor  superstition  in  it.  I  look  upon 
the  Church  of  England  as  the  true  pillar  and  centre  of  the  Reformation, 
and  if  her  enemies  should  lay  her  in  the  dust,  which  God  forbid,  there 
is  no  other  bulwark  in  Britain  to  stop  or  retard  the  progress  of  either 
Popery  or  enthusiasm.  And  I  wonder  men  should  retain  so  much  bit- 
terness against  the  Church  of  England,  valued  and  admired  by  all  fo- 
reign Churches,  and  whose  Liturgy,  as  it  is  the  most  serious  and  com- 
prehensive, so  it  is  most  agreeable  to  the  primitive  forms.  But  if  there 
was  no  law  for  it,  there  was  none  against  it ;  there  was  no  national 
church  government  then  [part  of  1689  and  1690],  and  why  might  we 
not  read  the  prayers  of  that  Church  from  which  we  derive  our  ordina- 
tion to  the  priesthood  since  the  Restoration  of  Charles  II.  V 't 

The  fourth  charge,  that  of  disaffection  to  the  Government,  Princi- 
pal Monro  admitted  in  a  modified  and  explanatory  manner,  and  this 
was  in  reality  the  grand  accusation  against  him.  As  to  the  accusation 
of  resigning  the  High  Church,  because  he  would  not  pray  for  King 
William  and  Queen  Mary,  he  says — "  Let  the  libeller  consider  the 
paper  by  which  I  demitted  my  office  in  that  church,  and  see  if  there  be 
any  such  reason  for  my  demission  inserted  in  that  paper.    I  could  name 

*  Principal  Monro  here  refers  to  the  period,  nearly  twelve  months,  in  1689  and 
1 690,  between  the  abolition  of  Episcopacy  as  the  national  establishment  and  the  ra- 
tification of  the  Presbyterian  polity.  The  Principal  and  his  brethren  appear  to  have 
officiated  in  halls,  and  other  large  apartments  in  Edinburgh,  and  in  private  houses. 

|  Presbyterian  Inquisition,  p.  33.  It  is  stated  in  a  note — "  This  answer  to  the 
third  article  of  the  Doctor's  libel  did  exasperate  the  Presbyterians  to  the  highest  de- 
gree, and  those  to  whom  it  was  recommended  to  view  and  examine  his  answers  thought 
they  discovered  strange  consequences  in  this.  But  some  of  the  nobility  who  were 
present  when  this  was  tossed  would  not  suffer  such  fooleries  as  were  then  objected  to  be 
inserted  in  their  report,  partly  that  the  Presbyterians  might  not  be  exposed,  partly  that 
they  might  not  bo  witnesses  to  such  palpable  impertinences,  and  partly  that  none  might 
sav  the  ministers,  to  whom  the  government  was  committed,  were  such  fools  as  to  fly 
in  the  face  of  the  Church  of  England  at  this  juncture.  This  article  was  let  fall,  and 
no  report  made  of  it  to  the  General  Commission." 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  117 

other  reasons  for  my  demission,  and  I  do  not  believe  that  the  Presbyte- 
rians were  angry  with  me  on  that  head,  that  I  left  off  preaching  in  a 
church  which  they  were  to  have  in  their  own  possession.  —The  libeller 
does  not  think  I  rejoiced  at  the  fall  of  my  Lord  Dundee.  I  assure  him 
of  the  contrary,  for  no  gentleman,  soldier,  scholar,  or  civilized  citizen, 
will  find  fault  with  me  for  this.  I  had  an  extraordinary  value  for  him, 
and  such  of  his  enemies  as  retain  any  generosity  will  acknowledge  that 
he  deserved  it ;  and  the  libeller  should  consider  that  the  victories  ob- 
tained in  a  civil  war  are  no  true  causes  of  joy,  for  our  brethren,  friends, 
acquaintances,  and  fellow  Christians,  must  fall."  Dr  Monro  denied  that 
he  had  prosecuted  the  Presbyterian  party  to  the  utmost  of  his  power. 
"  I  thank  God,"  he  says,  "  I  have  no  such  Presbyterian  temper,  for  I 
never  hated  any  man  for  his  opinions,  unless  by  it  he  thinks  himself 
obliged  to  destroy  me  and  mine,  and  such  truly  I  consider  as  the  ty- 
rannical enemies  of  human  society  ;  but  the  libeller  would  have  acted 
his  part  more  skilfully,  if  he  could  have  named  some  dissenters  in  the 
parishes  of  Dunfermline,  Kinglassie,  or  Wemyss,  where  I  was  once 
minister,  whom  I  had  prosecuted  before  the  secular  judge  for  non-con- 
formity, which  I  might  have  easily  done,  had  I  been  so  very  fierce  as 
the  libeller  represents  me,  having  easy  access  to  the  greatest  men  of  the 
►State  at  that  time." 

As  to  the  fifth  accusation  of  hearing  Dr  ritcairne*  ridicule  the  West- 
minster Confession  of  Faith,  and  impugn  the  existence  of  a  Deity,  with- 
out answering  him,  Principal  Monro  says: — "  I  was  not  in  the  desk, 
nor  bound  to  preside  at  those  exercises,  and  so  not  concerned  to  answer ; 
but  my  good  friend  Dr  Pitcairne  is  more  able  to  answer  for  both  him- 
self and  me  than  I  am  ;  only  the  sneaking  libeller  is  grossly  ignorant 
and  malicious,  for  the  Doctor  did  not  impugn  the  existence  of  a  Deity. 
lie  endeavoured  fairly,  like  a  true  philosopher,  to  load  some  propositions 
in  the  thesis  with  this  absurdity  (hoc  posito  sequcrctur  illud).  The 
most  sacred  fundamentals  in  religion  are  thus  disputed  in  the  schools, 
not  with  a  design  to  overthrow  them,  as  the  'libeller  iguorautly  fancies, 

•  This  was  the  oelebrated  Dr  Archibald  Pitcairne,  often  mentioned  in  this  part  of 

the  narrati\<\  one  of  the  most  illustrious  ornaments  of  the  medical  profession  whom 

Scotland  erer  produced.  The  Doctor  was  ;i  staunch  Churchman,  and,  being  a  man 
of  wit,  often  burleequed  and  ridiculed  the  Presbyterian  ministers,  srho  were  all  airaid 
of  hii  satire,  and  beartilj  hated  him. 


118  HISTORY  OF  THE 

but  to  establish  and  set  them  in  their  true  light,  that  they  may  appear 
in  their  evidence.  Yet  I  foresaw  that  some  ignorant  or  malicious 
people  would  misrepresent  this  argument,  and  therefore  I  desired  the 
Doctor  to  let  it  fall,  and  without  any  more  he  did  so." 

The  charge  of  removing  the  pictures  of  the  Reformers  from  the  Li- 
brary of  the  College,  or  rather  the  motive  for  removing,  was,  like  the 
others  of  which  then  Dr  Monro  was  accused,  altogether  malicious  and 
false.  It  came  out  in  explanation  that  Sir  Thomas  Kennedy,  then 
Lord  Provost  of  the  city,  expected  that  certain  Visitors  intended  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  King  James,  would  sit  in  the  College  Library,  and  his  Lord- 
ship gave  orders  that  the  paintings  of  the  Reformers  should  be  removed, 
lest  the  sight  of  them  might  cause  some  unpleasant  altercations  between 
the  Popish  and  Protestant  members  of  the  visitation  ;  and  we  are  told 
that  though  Dr  Monro  did  so,  yet  he  required  no  order  for  it,  as  it  was 
* '  in  his  power  to  remove  and  set  up  pictures,  or  any  other  furniture  he 
pleased."  This  was  proved  by  a  written  declaration  from  Sir  Thomas 
Kennedy,  when  he  was  made  acquainted  with  this  accusation  against 
the  Principal,  dated  7th  October  1690,  in  which  he  takes  the  whole  re- 
sponsibility upon  himself,  and  considers  himself  bound  in  duty  and 
honour  to  declare  that  what  Dr  Monro  did  "  in  this  particular  was 
done  at  my  desire  and  appointment,  I  being  Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh 
at  that  time,  which  was  intended  and  done  by  me  upon  no  other  mo- 
tive, and  for  no  other  end,  but  that  there  being  a  visitation  of  the  Col- 
lege immediately  to  ensue,  when  I  had  reason  to  suspect  several  Ro- 
mish priests  and  Jesuits  would  be  present,  I  thought  it  a  prudent  cau- 
tion to  be  used  for  saving  these  pictures  of  our  worthy  Reformers  from 
being  abused  or  ridiculed  :  This  made  me  think  it  convenient  that  for 
some  few  days  these  should  be  removed,  as  they  accordingly  were,  and 
as  soon  as  this  occasion  was  over  they  were  immediately  hung  up  in 
their  former  places  again.  At  the  same  time  I  took  care  to  have  kept 
out  of  the  view  of  such  priests  whatsoever  might  prove  tempting  or 
inviting  about  the  College,  to  kindle  their  endeavours  for  getting  it  a  seat 
or  seminary  for  them  or  their  religion,  and  I  gave  the  necessary  orders 
accordingly,  which  is  well  known  to  several  masters  of  the  College." 

The  other  charges  are  answered  by  the  Principal  in  a  similar  satis- 
factory manner,  and  having  lodged  his  defence,  it  was  read  to  the  Visi- 
tors on  the  23d  of  September.     He  was  now  asked  if  he  was  willing  to 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  119 

take  all  the  tests,  religious  and  political,  lately  imposed  by  law,  and  an- 
swering in  the  negative,  sentence  of  deprivation  was  pronounced  against 
him  on  the  25th,  by  the  Earl  of  Crawfurd,  and  Gilbert  Rule  was  soon 
afterwards  appointed  his  successor. 

Dr  John  Strachan,  minister  of  the  Tron  Church,  and  Professor  of 
Divinity  in  the  College,  was  the  next  object  of  the  "  Presbyterian  In- 
quisition." He  was  accused  of  having,  in  a  sermon  before  the  Diocesan 
Synod  of  Edinburgh,  advocated  a  reconciliation  with  the  Church  of 
Rome — of  being  an  Arminian,  and  maintaining  "  Arminian  and  Pela- 
gian principles  and  tenets" — of  "  innovating  the  worship  of  God  in 
setting  up  the  English  service" — of  neglecting  his  duty  in  the  College, 
or  at  least  of  not  discharging  it  in  a  satisfactory  manner — of  celebrating 
marriages  and  baptisms  irregularly — of  dissatisfaction  to  the  Govern- 
ment— and  "  that  the  said  Doctor  does  ordinarily  neglect  the  worship 
of  God  in  his  family."  Dr  Strachan  defended  himself  against  these  ca- 
lumnies, but  it  was  of  no  avail,  and  he  was  deprived  on  the  same  day 
with  Principal  Monro. 

Three  others  of  the  Professors  of  the  University  were  expelled  at  the 
same  time — Mr  John  Drummond,  Professor  of  Philology,  Mr  Alexander 
Douglas,  Professor  of  Oriental  Languages,  and  Mr  Thomas  Burnet, 
Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy.  The  celebrated  Dr  David  Gregory  also 
refused  to  take  the  test,  and  conform  to  Presbyterianism,  but  his  great 
reputation  made  the  Visitors  unwilling  to  injure  the  University  by 
too  rigid  an  enquiry  into  his  political  principles,  lie  soon,  however, 
left  their  establishment,  for  in  1691  he  was  admitted  Savilian  Profes- 
sor in  a  University  more  congenial  to  his  religious  principles — that  of 
<  )xford. 

The  preceding  narrative  will  enable  the  reader  to  obtain  a  tolerably 
correct  knowledge  of  the  proceedings  of  those  times,  and  of  the  .sum- 
mary manner  in  which  the  supporters  of  the  deposed  Church  were 
treated.  The  Presbyterians,  now  that  their  system  was  the  law  of  the 
land,  and  had  received  the  Royal  Assent,  are  not  to  be  blamed  for  sup 
planting  the  ejected  incumbents  with  men  of  their  own  principles,  hut 
the  manner  ID  which  they  did  so  was  often  disgraceful,  malicious,  and 
contemptible.  Instead  of  openly  and  manfully  asking  if  the  incum- 
bents would  take  the  religious  and  political  tots,  they  had  the  mean- 
ness t<>  resort  to  their  old  snretohed  subterfuge  of  stringing  together  a 


1  20  HISTORY  OF  THE 

number  of  charges  of  a  personal  nature,  affecting  the  moral  character 
of  individuals,  such  as  false  accusations  of  profane  swearing,  holding 
what  they  chose  to  designate  Popish  or  Arminian  sentiments,  and  of 
neglecting  family  worship.     "  It  is  not  usual,"  says  Principal  Monro,  in 
reply  to  one  of  those  charges  against  him,  "  for  the  Presbyterians  to  load 
men  of  a  different  opinion  from  them  with  ordinary  escapes.     They 
must  represent  them  as  abominable,  and  as  sinners  of  the  first-rate,  for 
all  that  are  not  of  their  way  can  have  no  fairer  quarter."     And  again, 
when  noticing  the  charge  of  neglecting  family  worship,  the  learned  Prin- 
cipal observed — "  Sometimes  I  am  accused  of  having  too  many  prayers 
in  my  family,  and  now  that  I  ordinarily  neglect  prayers.     But  this  is  a 
common-place,  and  all  of  the  Episcopal  persuasion  must  be  represented 
as  atheists  and  scandalous,  void  of  all  devotion  and  piety."     In  refer- 
ence to  the  proceedings  of  the  Visitors  of  the  Universities,  it  is  well  ob- 
served by  one  of  the  ejected  sufferers — "  The  Visitors  might  have  been 
well  assured  that  no  Master  or  Professor  of  any  conscience  who  had 
been  episcopally  ordained,  or  acquainted  with  the  primitive  constitu- 
tion of  the  Church,  could  in  any  way  comply  with  conditions  so  severe 
and  rigid  as  taking  the  test.     It  had  been  soon  enough  then  for  the 
Presbyterians  to  have  fled  to  their  old  experimented  way  of  libelling, 
when  the  Masters  had  stood  their  ground  against  that  new  test,  which 
originally  had  no  end  but  to  make  vacant  places.     The  Presbyterian 
preachers,  who  earnestly  wished  to  be  employed  in  the  toil  and  drudgery 
of  this  affair,  made  it  their  business  to  search  into  all  the  actions  of  the 
Professors'  lives,  especially  such  as  were  capable  of  being  transformed 
into  a  libel,  and  having  the  assistance  and  zeal  of  some  of  the  new 
magistrates  of  Edinburgh  to  second  their  endeavours,  it  is  easy  to  fore- 
see what  quarter  those  might  expect  who  differed  from  them.     Because 
they  pretended  to  be  most  accurate  reformers,  they  would  therefore  do 
their  work  thoroughly,  and  strip  their  opponents  as  bare  of  their  good 
name  and  reputation  as  of  their  livelihoods  and  preferments  ;  and  hav- 
ing got  the  jurisdiction  and  revenues  of  the  Church  into  their  hands,  it 
was  not  safe  for  them  to  want  the  government  and  possession  of  the 
seminaries  of  learning  ;  and  therefore  the  Presbyterians  who  preached 
before  the  Parliament  never  forgot  to  exhort  such  as  were  in  power 
speedily  to  reform  the  Universities,  which  is  no.  less,  in  their  language, 
than  to  plant  them  with  Presbyterians.       To  accomplish  this,  it  was 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  121 

necessary  to  represent  the  Masters  of  Universities  under  the  episcopal 
constitution  as  very  ill  men,  enemies  to  the  godly,  Socinians,  Papists. 
The  people^could  not  discern  when  they  spoke  contradictions,  for  though 
Socinianism  and  Popery  be  two  opposite  points  of  the  compass,  yet 
some  of  their  emissaries  scrupled  not  to  accuse  one  and  the  same  per- 
son of  both."* 

When  the  pretensions  set  forth  by  the  Presbyterians  respecting  the 
scriptural  authority  of  their  system  are  considered,  these  remarks  will 
appear  just  and  moderate.  It  was  better,  they  presumed,  to  libel  the 
Professors  and  Clergy,  than  to  eject  them  for  scruples  of  conscience,  be- 
cause in  the  latter  case  they  might  have  procured  public  sympathy.  Men 
who  held,  as  one  of  them  maintained,  that  "  it  was  not  possible  the  power 
of  godliness  could  prevail  but  under  Presbytery,"  were  not  likely  to  be 
scrupulous  in  their  calumnious  attacks  of  the  Episcopalians.  Moreover, 
the  test,  as  it  was  intended  to  be  understood  and  applied,  meant  that 
"  every  master  should  thereby  declare  the  Presbyterian  church  govern 
ment  to  be  preferable  to  any  other  whatsoever,  and  the  only  govern- 
ment left  by  Christ  and  his  Apostles  in  the  Church,  and  warranted 
by  Scripture" — a  statement  denied  by  the  whole  Christian  Church 
throughout  the  world  in  all  ages.  As  to  the  Westminster  Confession  of 
Faith,  it  was  altogether  impossible  for  a  clergyman  to  recognize  it  in  any 
way  whatsoever  ;  yet  some  of  the  leading  Presbyterians  in  those  com- 
missions maintained  that  by  "  the  acknowledging  and  subscribing  it  is 
not  only  meant  an  owning  of  it  so  far  as  it  is  a  system  of  theology  con  • 
form  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  one  of  the  best  designed  for  distin- 
guishing the  Reformed  Church  from  the  heretics  and  schismatics  who 
now  disturb  it,  but  that  it  also  imports  an  absolute  owning  of  every  par- 
ticular article  thereof,  as  the  only  and  most  perfect  Confession  that  hath 
been  or  can  yet  be  composed,  and  that  therefore  it  was  to  be  acknow- 
ledged, professed,  and  subscribed  without  any  limitation,  restriction,  or 
reservation  whatsoever." 

'  Presbyterian  Inquisition,  p.  4,  5. 


122  HISTORY  OF  THE 


CHAPTER  VII, 


PROCEEDINGS  AGAINST  THE  EPISCOPAL  PAROCHIAL  CLERGY. 

The  act  which  established  the  Presbyterian  form  of  Church  Government 
in  Scotland  authorized  its  supporters  to  "  try  and  purge  out  all  insuffi- 
cient, negligent,  scandalous,  and  erroneous  ministers,  by  due  course  of 
ecclesiastical  process  and  censures  ;  and  it  was  ordained  that  whatever 
minister,  being  summoned  before  them,  or  before  visitors  appointed  by 
them,  should  refuse  to  appear,  or,  appearing,  should  be  found  guilty  by 
them,  was  to  be  by  their  sentence  ipso  facto  suspended  from  or  deprived  of 
his  church,  stipend,  and  benefice."  Every  incumbent  who  had  obtained 
possession  of  his  parish  by  ordination  and  institution  from  the  Bishop 
of  the  Diocese  was  included  under  the  epithets  insufficient,  negligent, 
scandalous,  and  erroneous  ;  and  whoever  refused  to  appear  before  this 
new  tribunal,  and  declare  that  the  constitution  and  doctrines  of  the 
Church  were  "  contrary  to  the  Word  of  God,"  was  to  be  deprived  of  his 
benefice  by  a  judicial  sentence.  The  clergy  were  also  expected  to  re- 
cognize the  "  Acts  of  Assembly"  and  the  "  solemn  engagements  of  the 
land,"  by  which  latter  were  meant  the  National  Covenant  and  the  So- 
lemn League  and  Covenant  concocted  at  the  rebellion  against  Charles  I. 
The  manner  in  which  those  measures  were  carried  into  operation  will 
be  immediately  seen,  as  also  the  results  in  many  districts.  Meanwhile 
the  Bishops  were  no  longer  permitted  to  occupy  their  episcopal  resi- 
dences, or  publicly  to  discharge  the  functions  of  their  office.  The  act  of 
1690,  "  anent  the  superiority  of  lands  and  others  which  formerly  held  of 
Prelates"  was  sufficiently  stringent.  After  reciting  the  old  and  usual 
assertion,  that  "  Prelacie  and  the  superiority  of  any  office  in  the  church 
above  presbyters  is  and  hath  been  an  unsupportable  grievance  and  trouble 
to  this  nation,"  and  that  their  Majesties  have   "abolished  the  office  of 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  123 

Bishops  or  Prelates  out  of  this  kirk  and  kingdom, "  the  act  thus  proceeds — 
"  Therefore,  for  removing  of  all  doubts  and  questions  that  may  arise 
anent  the  superiorities  of  these  lands,  mills,  fishings,  heritable  offices, 
and  others,  which  formerly  held  of  the  Prelates  or  Bishops,  or  of  their 
Chapters,  or  of  Deans,  Sub-Deans,  and  Arch-Deans,  or  any  other  bene- 
ficed person,  by  reason  of  the  abolishing  of  the  said  offices  and  Chapters 
foresaid  furth  of  this  kirk  and  kingdom  ;  and  to  the  effect  the  subjects 
and  vassals  of  those  holdings  may  be  put  in  assurance  hereanent :  Have 
statute,  ordained,  and  declared,  and  by  these  presents  statute,  ordain, 
and  declare,  that  all  these  superiorities  which  formerly  pertained  to  the 
said  Bishops  and  their  Chapters,  or  Deans  and  others  foresaid,  do  now 
pertain  and  belong,  and  shall  hereafter  pertain,  immediately  to  their 
Majesties  and  their  successors  in  all  time  coming." 

The  ejected  Bishops  quietly  betook  themselves  to  honourable  and 
patient  retirement,  satisfied  of  the  conscientious  integrity  of  their  prin- 
ciples, and  contented  to  abide  the  result  of  the  new  arrangements  of  the 
Government.  In  the  language  of  Bishop  Short—"  The  authority  by 
which  every  bishop  or  priest  acts  is  derived  by  succession  from  the 
Apostles,  each  succeeding  generation  communicating  to  the  next  the 
authority  under  which  they  themselves  have  been  acting.  The  division 
of  the  country  into  dioceses  and  parishes  is  a  civil  arrangement,  which 
regulates  the  place  where  the  individual  shall  exercise  his  ministry,  but 
the  civil  power  neither  confers  the  ministerial  authority  nor  can  alter  it. 
When,  therefore,  the  civil  authority  deprived  those  nonjuring  Bishops 
of  their  temporal  jurisdictions,  it  could  not  divest  them  of  the  sacred 
office  to  which  they  had  been  called,  and  they  conceived  that  as  this 
was  still  continued  to  them,  they  were  bound  still  to  exercise  it.*  The 
same  thing  is  actually  taking  place  at  this  moment  in  Scotland.  The 
legal  church  government  there  is  Presbyterian,  yet  is  there  a  regular 
succession  of  Protestant  Bishops,  who  fill  certain  Sees  without  any  au- 
thoritative power  derived  from  the  State,  and  constitute  perhaps  the 
purest  form  of  Episcopacy  in  the  world.  As  far  as  Scotland  is  con- 
cerned, her  Bishops  arc,  in  the  opinion  of  an  Episcopalian,  fully  borne 
..ut  in  this  apparent  schism,  because  the  rest  of  the  church  there,  though 

•  In  the  above  remark*  Biahop  Short  refer*  t->  the  English  Nonjuring  Biahopt, 
l.ut  ill-  \  equally  apply  t"  those  of  Scotland. 


124  HISTORY  OF  THE 

legally  established,  has  discarded  the  apostolical  order  of  Bishops,  and 
the  division  must  be  charged  by  us  on  those  who  have  introduced  the 
anomaly  of  a  Christian  church  without  Bishops."* 

Most  of  the  Scottish  Bishops  spent  their  lives  in  retirement  after  the 
Revolution,  and  only  a  few  of  them,  as  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  officiated 
in  places  of  worship  fitted  up  for  them,  called  meeting-houses.  Arch- 
bishop Ross  of  St  Andrews  is  already  mentioned  as  having  died  in 
1704.  It  is  not  known  where  he  resided  during  his  latter  years.  In 
the  Canongate  burying-ground,  near  the  north-west  corner  of  the  parish 
church,  is  the  tombstone,  previously  noticed,  erected,  as  the  inscription 
bears,  to  the  memory  of  "  George  Stuart  Forbes,  Esq.,  representative  of 
the  ancient  family  of  Brux,  and  his  spouse,  Margaret  Stewart,  only 
daughter  of  Captain  John  Stewart,  R.N.,  a  cadet  of  the  honourable 
family  of  Ballechin."  On  the  back  of  this  tombstone  it  is  stated — 
"  The  proper  burying-place  of  this  family  is  in  Restalrig,  in  the  tomb 
of  his  Grace  Arthur  Ross,  last  Archbishop  and  Primate  in  Scotland, 
whose  great-great-grandson,  George  Stuart  Forbes,  here  interred  was, 
but  he,  having  died  suddenly  in' Edinburgh,  was  privately  interred  here, 
formerly  the  burying-place  of  the  Eglinton  Family." 

Archbishop  Paterson  of  Glasgow  retired  to  Edinburgh,  where  he  died 
in  1708,  in  the  76th  year  of  his  age.  His  death  is  here  noticed  by  anti- 
cipation, for  he  is  subsequently  introduced  as  sustaining  a  prominent  part 
in  the  welfare  and  continuance  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  The  Arch- 
bishop was  interred  on  the  23d  of  December  in  the  Chapel- Royal  of 
Holyrood  Palace,  and  "  lies  on  the  north  side  in  the  east  end  against 
the  third  window  of  the  said  north  side.  His  feet  lie  at  the  foot  of 
Bishop  Wishart's  monument,  "t 

Bishop  Rose  of  Edinburgh  continued  to  reside  in  the  city,  and  it  ap- 
pears that  his  house  was  in  the  Canongate.  Two  sons  of  Bishop  Rose 
are  mentioned  as  born  at  Perth — Alexander  in  1 679,  and  Arthur  in 
1681.  |  He  married  Euphemia,  one  of  six  daughters  of  Patrick  Threip- 
land,  Esq.  of  Fingask  Castle,  Perthshire,  who  was  created  a  Baronet 
of  Nova  Scotia  in  1687. 

*  Sketch  of  the  History  of  the  Church  of  England  to  the  Revolution  of  1688,  vol. 
ii.  p.  373,  374. 

■f  MS.  Funeral  Records  of  the  Abbey  and  Chapel-Royal  of  Holyroodhouse. 
|   Perth  Registers,  MSS.,  in  Advocates'  Library,  Edinburgh. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  125 

Of  the  other  ejected  Prelates  we  find  Bishop  Hamilton  of  Dunkeld  con- 
tinuing to  officiate  as  an  Episcopal  clergyman  in  Edinburgh,  and  he  re- 
tained his  appointment  of  Sub-Dean  of  the  Chapel-Royal.  Bishop  Hal- 
lyburton  of  Aberdeen  lived  in  complete  seclusion  after  the  Revolution, 
and  died  in  his  own  mansion  of  Denhead  near  Cupar- Angus  in  1715,  in 
the  77th  year  of  his  age.  The  death  of  Bishop  Hay  of  Moray  is  already 
mentioned  in  his  son-in-law's  house  at  Castlehill,  Inverness,  in  17.07. 
Bishop  Drummond  of  Brechin  resided  chiefly  with  the  Earl  of  Erroll, 
till  his  death  in  1695.  This  nobleman  was  Sir  John  Hay  of  Killour, 
who  succeeded  as  eleventh  Earl  of  Erroll  in  1674.  His  son  Charles, 
who  became  twelfth  Earl,  is  noticed  as  "  Lord  Hay,  one  of  the  hopeful- 
est  young  gentlemen  in  the  kingdom,  and  an  enemy  to  Presbytery ."* 
Bishop  Drummond  resided  with  the  Earl  of  Erroll  at  Slaines  Castle  in 
Aberdeenshire  as  his  Lordship's  private  friend.  Bishop  Wood  of  Caith- 
ness died  at  Dunbar  in  1695,  in  the  76th  year  of  his  age.  He  also  ap- 
pears to  have  lived  in  strict  retirement  after  the  Revolution.  Bishop 
Douglas  of  Dunblane  died  at  Dundee  in  1716,  at  the  venerable  age  of 
ninety-two,  and,  as  it  is  said  of  him,  "  full  of  piety  as  well  as  of  years." 
Bishop  Ramsay  of  Ross  died  at  Edinburgh  in  1696,  and  was  interred 
in  the  Canongate  churchyard.  Of  Bishop  Bruce  of  Orkney  it  is  merely 
recorded  that  he  died  in  March  1700.  It  is  already  observed  that 
Bishop  Gordon  of  Galloway  followed  the  fortunes  of  King  James,  and 
resided  at  the  exiled  Court  of  St  Germains.  Nothing  is  known  of 
Bishop  Graham  of  the  Isles.  The  Bishopric  of  Argyll  was  vacant  at 
the  Revolution.  Principal  Monro  received  a  conge  oVelire  to  the  See 
on  the  24th  of  October  1688,  but  the  fate  of  the  Church  at  the  Revolu- 
tion prevented  his  consecration. 

The  ejected  Bishops  were  held  in  the  greatest  respect  and  veneration 
during  their  lives  by  the  members  of  the  Church.  Even  the  descend- 
ants of  some  of  their  predecessors  in  the  episcopate  were  highly  esteem*  d 
by  many  in  their  localities.  An  illustration  of  this  OCCUT8  in  the  case  of 
the  family  <>f  Dr  William  Lindsay,  who  had  been  one  of  the  incumbents 
of  Pertli.  and  died  Bishop  of  Dunkeld  in  1679,  in  the  second  year  of  his 
consecration.  Ili-  lady  died  a  short  time  before  him,  and  hi-  surviving 
children  were  placed  under  the  care  of  a  relative  in  Perth.     The  old 

•  Qenend  llacka;  "-  Memoirs,  p.  247. 


126  HISTORY  OF  THE 

women  of  that  town  "  used  to  stroke  the  heads  of  his  little  grandchild- 
ren, and  bless  them  for  their  grandfather's  sake,  who  they  were  sure  was 
a  good  man."* 

The  ejected  Archbishops  and  Bishops  gave  the  new  Government  no 
trouble,  for  they  quietly  relinquished  their  Sees,*  and  were  consequently 
unmolested,  but  it  was  different  with  the  parochial  clergy.     Committees 
were  appointed  to  perambulate  the  kingdom,  and  purge  the  parishes  of 
the  Episcopal  incumbents.     This  was  carried  on  by  serving  them  with 
libels  to  appear  before  the  newly  constituted  Presbyteries,  and  as  these 
libels  were  of  course  found  proven,  sentence  of  deprivation  was  recorded. 
In  a  pamphlet  written  by  an  enemy,  the  noted  George  Ridpath  already 
mentioned,  under  the  title  of  William  Lakh,  some  curious  particulars 
are  given  of  the  proceedings  against  the  clergy.     Of  this  individual, 
who  was  of  considerable  and  not  very  creditable  notoriety  in  his  day, 
little  is  now  known,  and  his  pamphleteering  enmity  to  the  Episcopal 
Church  has  sunk  like  himself  into  oblivion.     He  was  a  native  of  Ber- 
wickshire, and  appears  to  have  been  connected  with  a  respectable  family, 
notwithstanding  the  epithets  of  varlet  and  other  degrading  names  be- 
stowed upon  him  by  Sir  William  Paterson,  Bart.,  the  son  of  Archbishop 
Paterson  of  Glasgow.     He  was  considered  of  such  importance  to  the 
Presbyterians  as  a  writer  that  his  antagonists  designated  him  the  "  head 
of  their  party  in   Scotland,"   in  the  preface  to  a  pamphlet  written  in 
reply  to  some  of  his  falsehoods,  entitled,  "  The  Spirit  of  Calumny  and 
Slander  examin'd,   chastis'd,  and  exposed,  in  a  Letter  to  a  Malicious 
Libeller,  more  particularly  addressed  to  Mr  George  Ridpath,  News- 
monger, near  St  Martin's-in-the-Fields,  containing  some  Observations 
on  his  Scurrilous  Pamphlets  published  by  him  against  the  Kings,  Par- 
liaments, Laws,  Nobility,  and  Clergy  of  Scotland  ;  together  with  a  Short 
Account  of  Presbyterian  Principles  and  Consequential  Practics."     The 
motto  is — Tenue  est  rnendacium,  perlucet  si  dilig  enter  inspecceris.i 

The  title  of  Ridpath's  production  is,  "  The  Scots  Episcopal  Inno- 
cence, or  the  juggling  of  that  party  with  the  late  King,  his  present  Ma- 
jesty, the  Church  of  England,  and  the  Church  of  Scotland,  demonstrat- 


*  Perth  Registers,  MSS.,  Advocates'  Library,  Edinburgh. 

|  London,  printed  for  Joseph  Hindmarsh,  at  the  Golden  Ball,  over  against  the 
Royal  Exchange,  4to.  1693. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  127 

ed  ;  together  with  a  Catalogue  of  the  Scots  Episcopal  Clergy  turn'd  out 
for  their  Disloyalty  and  other  Enormities  since  the  Revolution.     And  a 
Postscript,  with  Reflections  on  a  late  malicious  Pamphlet,  entitled  The 
Spirit  of  Calumny  and  Slander,  particularly  addressed  to  Dr  Monro 
and  his  journeymen,  Mr  Simon  Wild,  Mr  Andrew  Johnstone,  &c.  near 
Thieving  Lane,  Westminster."      It  is  addressed  to  the  "  Right  Ho- 
nourable and  Right  Reverend  the  General  Assembly  of  #the  Church  of 
Scotland,"  and  it  appears  from  Ridpath's  own  admissions  that  the  Pres- 
byterians were  severely  annoyed  by  the  satires  of  their  opponents,  for  he 
hopes  that  the  Bight  Reverend  Assembly  will  "  take  such  measures  as 
their  wisdom  shall  suggest  to  provide  antidotes  for  those  poisonous  libels, 
which  fly  abroad  here  against  them  in  such  numbers  by  the  united  en- 
deavours of  their  enemies."     But  the  most  extraordinary  assertion  he 
makes  in  the  very  outset  of  his  pamphlet  is — "  I  am  well  assured  that 
the  far  greater  part  of  the  Scots  Episcopal  clergy  did  always  pretend  to 
believe  that  no  particular  species  of  church  government  ivas  of  Divine  In- 
stitution, but  that  it  was  alterable,  according  to  the  pleasure  and  con- 
veniency  of  the  State,  and  this  I  have  heard  asserted  by  some  of  the  most 
learned  of  their  communion."     Who  those  "  most  learned"  were  Wil- 
liam Laick,  or  Ridpath,  does  not  inform  us,  yet  in  the  face  of  this  state- 
ment he  gives  us  a  list  "  of  the  Episcopal  ministers  deprived  by  the 
Committee  of  Estates  in  May  1689,"  amounting  to  eighteen,  and  he 
then  enumerates  one  hundred  and  eighty-four,  m6st  of  whom  were  after- 
wards ejected  from  their  benefices  for  maintaining  the  divine  institution 
of  Episcopacy,  amongst  whom  are  many  whose  names  are  well  known 
in  the  subsequent  history  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church.     The  dis- 
loyalty and  other  enormities  of  which  the  deprived  clergy  were  guiUu 
were  of  course  attachment  to  the  exiled  sovereign,  refusing  to  read  the 
"proclamation  enjoined  by  the  States,"  and  "not  praying  for  King 
William  and  Queen  Mary."     It  also  appears  that  in  many  cases  the 
clergy  were  present  when  they  were  deprived,  and  admitted  the  charges, 
thus  choosing  rather  to  relinquish  their  temporalities  than  to  violate 
their  consciences  by  swerving  from  what  they  considered  to  be  the  prin- 
ciples of  loyalty.     Is  it  likely  that  some  hundreds  of  nun  would  have 
acted  in  this  manner,  if  they  had  been  of  tho  opinion  that  "no  particu- 
lar species  of  church  government  was  of  divine  institution,  but  that  it 

was  alterable  according  to  the  pleasure  and  conTeniency  of  the  Stafc 


128  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Mr  Patrick  Trant,  minister  of  Linlithgow,  was  deposed  for  "  praying 
for  the  late  King,  and  that  God  would  restore  the  banished."  Mr  John 
Barclay,  minister  of  Falkland  in  Fifeshire,  acknowledged  that  "  he  had 
not  prayed  for  their  Majesties,"  and  he  was  consequently  "  deprived,  and 
discharged  from  preaching  in  the  parish."  Mr  David  Murray,  minister 
of  Blackford,  Perthshire,  accused  of  "  not  reading,  and  not  praying,  and 
not  obeying  th#  thanksgiving,  and  for  hindering  the  reading  of  the  pro- 
clamation for  a  collection  for  the  French  and  Irish  Protestants,"  was 
present,  and  as  he  "  acknowledged  that  he  did  not  read,  nor  pray  (for 
King  William  and  Queen  Mary),  nor  keep  the  thanksgiving,  nor  read 
the  proclamation,"  he  was  deprived.  One  of  the  ministers  of  St  Cuth- 
bert's,  Edinburgh,  was  accused  of  being  "  imposed  on  the  parish  by  the 
Bishop,  and  for  his  acting  as  a  spy,  and  otherwise  as  an  intelligencer  to 
the  Castle  of  Edinburgh  then  besieged."  Mr  Robert  Graham,  minister 
of  Abercorn,  did  not  deny  the  charges  brought  against  him,  but  insisted 
that  "the  libel  might  be  proven"  according  to  law,  for  which  "  disin- 
genuity,"  as  it  is  called,  this  gentleman  was  deprived,  and  "committed 
to  prison  during  pleasure." 

Mr  John  Barclay,  minister  of  Kettle  in  Fifeshire,  was  deprived  "  for 
not  reading  and  not  praying,  and  not  only  praying  for  the  late  King,  but 
also  that  God  would  confound  all  his  enemies,  and  that  he  hoped  to  see 
the  late  King  on  his  throne."  This  gentleman  was  farther  accused  of 
' '  always  running  out  of  the  church  when  his  reader  read  the  public  pa- 
pers contained  in  the  libel,"  Mr  Paul  Gelly,  minister  of  Avoth,  was  ac- 
cused of  exhorting  his  hearers  to  pray  for  King  James  in  private,  and 
of  saying  that  "  he  expected  a  blessed  reformation,  but  that  they  had 
only  gotten  wretched  tyrants  and  ungodly  rulers  to  govern  them,  and 
that  the  people  had  no  security  for  life  or  property."  Mr  John  Cameron, 
minister  of  Kincardine,  in  addition  to  the  general  charge,  was  accused 
of  "  bringing  down  the  rebels,"  the  Viscount  of  Dundee's  troops,  "  to  rob 
his  parishioners."  Messrs  Graham  and  Cowper,  ministers  of  Dunferm- 
line, were  charged  with  declaring,  when  they  heard  of  the  defeat  of  Ge- 
neral Mackay's  troops  at  Killiecrankie,  that  "  no  less  could  come  of 
them  for  rebelling  against  their  lawful  King."  Mr  George  Chalmers, 
minister  of  Kennoway,  was  accused  of  saying  that  "  there  were  three 
papers  lying  in  the  Parliament  House  at  Edinburgh,  which  were  like  to 
cause  the  members  to  sheathe  their  swords  in  one  another's  sides."     Mr 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  129 

John  Falconer,  minister  of  Carnbee  [afterwards  a  Bishop],  was  deprived 
on  the  general  charge.  Mr  John  Liddell,  minister  of  Hopkirk,  was  de- 
prived for  "not  praying  for  their  Majesties,"  and  for  saying  that  he 
"  never  would  pray  for  them  as  long  as  his  blood  was  warm."  Mr  Henry 
Knox,  minister  of  Bowden,  was  accused  of  saying  that  "  he  had  rather 
the  Papists  should  gain  the  day  than  the  Presbyterians."  He  was  "  pre- 
sent, acknowledged  the  same,  and  was  deprived."  Mr  John  Park,  mi- 
nister of  Carriden,  was  accused  of  praying  "  that  the  walls  of  the  Castle 
of  Edinburgh  might  be  as  brass  about  the  Duke  of  Gordon."  Mr  David 
Spence,  minister  of  Kirkurd,  was  libelled  for  saying  that  "  it  was  as 
lawful  to  go  and  hear  mass  as  to  hear  a  sermon  in  a  Presb)rterian  meet- 
ing-house." Mr  William  Cairns,  minister  of  the  Tolbooth  Church, 
Edinburgh,  was  deprived  for  praying  in  this  modified  manner — "God 
have  mercy  upon  King  William  and  Queen  Mary,  and  the  Royal  Fa- 
mily. "  Mr  William  Maclethny,  minister  at  Bonhill,  was  accused  of 
saying  that  as  he  had  "  taken  an  oath  to  King  James,  he  would  not 
obey  King  William's  authority."  Mr  John  Blair,  minister  of  Fintrv, 
was  deprived  for  declaring — "  Let  the  Whigs  pray  for  King  William 
and  Queen  Mary,  he  would  not,  for  he  never  got  good  by  them  ;"  and 
farther,  that  "  he  would  not  pray  for  them  till  Queen  Mary  had  got  her 
father's  blessing." 

Some  hundreds  of  instances  might  be  quoted  similar  to  the  above  in 
all  parts  of  Scotland.  Many  of  the  clergy,  it  is  to  be  observed,  repudiated 
tho  expressions  imputed  to  them,  but  their  denial  was  not  received. 
Many,  it  is  alleged  by  Ridpath,  were  deprived  for  "  praying  for  the 
late  King's  happy  restoration  to  the  throne,  and  tho  confusion  of  his 
enemies."  Others  were  ejected  for  opposing  tho  Westminster  Confes- 
sion of  Faith  and  the  Larger  and  Shorter  Catechisms.  In  addition  to 
all  this,  libels  were  often  served  against  tho  clergy,  accusing  them  of 
what  were  considered  crimes  and  scandals.  It  was  intended  to  libel  a 
clergyman  for  "  plucking  a  few  pease  od  Sunday,"  but  "  that  being  so 
parallel  to  the  case  of  the  disciples,  which  our  Saviour  defended,  it  was 
not  permitted  to  be  made  use  of."  One  was  accused  "  because  he  some- 
times ■'■!,;.<(!,< I  ;  and  another  because,  one  time  playing  at  bowls,  ho 
broke  an  innocent  jest,  which  none  could  have  construed  profane  bur 
they  who  were  impure.** 

•  Introduction  to  Histories]  Relation  of  the  Into  Presbyterian  General  Assembly, 
1690, 4to,  1691,  ]»•  l<>. 

i 


130  HISTORY  OF  THE 

But  even  taking  the  test,  as  it  was  called  in  common  phraseology, 
did  not  always  save  the  incumbents  who  complied.  Mr  Cooper,  pre- 
viously mentioned,  one  of  the  ministers  of  Dunfermline,  was  libelled  as  a 
"  great  persecutor  of  the  godly — supinely  negligent,  contrary  to  1  Tim" 
iii.  2"— as  having  "  horribly  profaned  the  ordinance  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per by  admitting  unclean  persons  to  that  holy  ordinance" — as  allowing 
and  keeping  "  on  his  session  ungodly  scandalous  elders,  some  of  whom 
are  drunkards,  others  swearers,  and  the  most  part  ignorant,  and  ne- 
glecters  of  the  worship  of  God  in  their  families,  profaners  of  the  Sab- 
bath." He  was  also  accused  of  having  "  sacrilegiously  robbed  the  poor 
of  the  charitable  offerings  of  the  people,  which  is  aggravated  by  this, 
that  he  hath  bestowed  the  same  to  carry  on  persecution  against  poor 
well-meaning  godly  people" — that  "  he  entered,  and  hath  been  admit- 
ted, to  the  charge  of  the  parish  of  Dunfermline  by  presentation  of  the 
patron,  collation,  and  institution  of  the  prelate,  and  that  against  the 
consent  of  the  generality  of  the  godly  and  serious  persons  within  the 
said  parish — that  he  hath  in  all  things  joined  and  complied  with  and 
assisted  Prelacy,  contrary  to  the  word  of  God,  established  law  of  the 
Church,  and  the  Land's  solemn  engagements  thereto,  and,  by  talcing  the 
oath  of  the  test,  has  manifested  his  incorrigibleness  :  for  which,  and  the 
forenamed  scandals,  the  generality  of  the  godly  in  this  place  never  ac- 
cepted him  or  received  him  as  minister,  but  have  been  groaning  under 
his  persecutions  upon  that  account." 

A  great  part  of  this  libel  relating  to  persecution,  robbing  the  poor, 
and  other  matters,  was  denied  as  "utterly  false."  It  was  declared  that 
"  every  family  in  the  town  was  visited  ordinarily  once  a-year  and  twice 
examined" — that  "  the  sick,  upon  notice  given,  are  carefully  attended, 
and  the  Scriptures  explained,  sometimes  in  larger,  sometimes  in  lesser 
portions" — that  ''all  due  endeavours  are  used  to  debar  scandalous  and 
notarly  vicious  persons  from  the  Lord's  Supper" — that  "the  elders  are 
men  of  as  unquestionable  integrity  as  any  of  their  quality  in  the  parish, 
at  least  nothing  to  the  contrary  of  either  communicants  or  elders  was 
ever  publicly  or  privately  signified" — and  that  "his  entrance  to  the 
charge  was  by  presentation  of  the  heritors  and  magistrates,  the  then  un- 
doubted patrons  ;  his  admission  was  legal  and  approved  by  the  favourable 
reception  of  the  parish  ;  his  ministry  countenanced  by  all,  a  few  ex- 
cepted." 

A  similar  libel  was  prepared  against  this  gentleman's  colleague,  Mr 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  131 

Graham,  with  the  additions  that  "  he  takes  no  notice  of  Quakers  in  his 

parish,  who  exercise  all  the  duties  of  their  religion  without  controul" 

that  he  profaned  the  Lord's  day  by  allowing  people  to  "  bring  in  kail  and 
fan  barley  for  the  pot  that  day,"  and  "  by  allowing  his  children  to  play 
with  others" — it  being  "of  verity  that  the  said  Mr  James  Graham  is 
guilty  of  these  scandals,  enormities,  and  transgressions."  Mr  Johnstone, 
minister  in  Burntisland  in  Fife,  was  libelled  as  a  "  man  of  bad  principles 
and  jesuitically  inclined,"  and  they  had  no  evidence  of  his  having  done 
any  thing  to  signify  his  satisfaction  with  the  "change  in  Church  and 
State  except  his  praying  for  King  William  and  Queen  Mary,  which  is 
not  doubted  was  done  by  advice  to  keep  off  a  present  stroke."  Mr 
Crawford,  minister  of  Ladykirk,  was  libelled  for  terming  the  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant  a  bond  of  rebellion,  and  Mr  Heriot  of  Dalkeith 
was  prosecuted  for  having  called  the  Duke  of  Monmouth  and  the  Earl 
of  Argyle  traitors,  though  he  had  simply  read  the  proclamation  issued 
against  those  noblemen,  which  was  appointed  by  the  King  and  Council 
to  be  read  in  churches.  Mr  Wood,  minister  of  Dunbar,  was  libelled  for 
saying  to  an  individual  who  expressed  his  fears  about  the  introduction 
of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer — "  God  send  us  no  worse  ;"  and  because 
he  had  never  expressed  his  thankfulness  for  the  deliverance  of  the  king- 
dom from  Popery  and  Prelacy.  He  replied,  that  he  "thanked  God 
heartily  for  any  deliverance  of  the  land  from  Popery,  but  he  could  not  do 
so  for  the  overthrow  of  Prelacy  unless  he  either  acted  the  hypocrite,  or 
was  convinced  that  Presbytery  was  the  greater  blessing,  and  the  more 
ancient  and  apostolical  government,  which  he  had  never  seen  made 
out."*  He  objected  to  the  word  Prelacy,  because  he  was  "  sensible  it 
was  too  mean  for  so  great  and  so  glorious  a  Church  as  that  of  England." 
Mr  Johnstone,  minister  of  Saline,  was  accused  of  "  being  too  much 
affected  to  the  episcopal  government,  and  for  recommending  supersti- 
tious and  erroneous  books  to  the  people,  as  they  were  pleased  to  call  the 
Whole  Dvtii  of  Man,  which  was  expressly  mentioned."  The  minister  of 
Abbotshall  was  libelled  for  opposing  the  Westminster  Catechism,  and 
using  the  one  published  by  the  authority  of  the  Diocesan  Synod  of 
Edinburgh,  afterwards  enlarged  by    Bishop    SeougaU  of  Aberdeen, 

one  of  the  most  pious  men  of  his  time.      When  Mr  PuTYes,  minister  of 
*   \n  Historical  Relation  of  the  late  Presbyterian  Qeneral  Assembly,  p.  11. 


132  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Glencorse,  objected  to  some  of  the  witnesses  as  bearing  malice  against 
him,  he  was  told  that  "  if  these  men  had  done  so  out  of  malice  and  per- 
sonal prejudice,  they  ought  not  to  be  received  as  witnesses,  but  if  they 
had  done  it  for  the  glory  of  God,  there  ivas  no  reason  ivhy  they  ought  not 
to  be  admitted." 

It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  these  examples,  but  enough  has  been 
adduced  to  show  the  extraordinary  proceedings  of  the  now  triumphant 
Presbyterian  party.  The  facts  are  admitted  by  the  Presbyterian  mi- 
nisters themselves,  in  their  statistical  accounts  of  the  parishes  of  Scot- 
land,* and  their  Presbytery  records  are  cited  in  evidence.  We  may 
take  as  an  example  the  Presbytery  of  Perth,  certainly  one  of  the  most 
important  in  the  kingdom.  It  appears  from  the  Perth  MSS.t  that 
"  before  the  30th  July  1690,  the  ministers  of  the  following  parishes  had 
been  deprived — Perth,  Kinnonll,  Aberdalgie,  Dumbarney,  Abernethy, 
Forgandenny,  Errol.  The  only  ministers  in  the  Presbytery  of  Perth 
who  conformed  to  Presbyterian  government  were  Mr  Alexander  Pit- 
cairn,  minister  of  Dron,  who  never  could  properly  be  said  to  be  a  sup- 
porter of  the  Church,  and  Mr  James  Inglis,  minister  of  St  Martin's, 
who,  though  he  had  complied,  appears  from  the  Presbytery  Register  to 
have  been  in  some  degree  a  malecontent.  Several  of  the  incumbents, 
particularly  Mr  John  Gall,  minister  of  Kinfauns,  seem  in  the  beginning 
to  have  imitated  the  clergy  in  England,  who,  from  the  apprehensions 
they  entertained  of  Popery  and  arbitrary  power,  approved  of  the  Revo- 
lution. But  when  the  Church  was  disestablished  by  the  Parliament, 
and  Presbyterian  government  restored  in  its  full  exercise,  it  would  seem 
that  those  ministers  left  off  mentioning  the  names  of  King  William  and 
Queen  Mary  in  their  prayers,  and  thereby  laid  themselves  open  to  civil 
as  well  as  ecclesiastical  censures. 

"  It  appears,"  continues  this  MS.  document,  "  that  the  Episcopal  mi- 
nisters of  Perth  continued  to  preach  for  some  time  after  their  deprivation, 
but  after  the  battle  of  Killiecrankie  they  thought  it  advisable  to  desist. 
It  is  reported  of  Mr  David  Anderson,  that  he  was  first  told  of  this  battle 
by  James  Robertson,  residenter  in  Balhousie,  whom  he  had  accosted  on 
the  street  of  Perth  with  some  threatening  expressions.    James  laid  hold 

*  Both  in  Sir  John  Sinclair's  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland,  and  in  the  New 
Statistical  Account. 

•f  Entitled  Hospital  Registers,  from  1665  to  1712. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  133 

of  his  gown  when  he  was  going  to  pass  from  him,  told  him  what  had 
happened,  and  that  the  King's  troops  were  on  their  way  to  Perth.  Mr 
Anderson  thereupon  saw  it  necessary,  it  is  said,  to  provide  for  his  own 
safety,  and  very  soon  after  fled  from  the  town." 

A  field  preacher  named  Melville  succeeded  the  incumbent  of  the  pa- 
rish of  Arngask,  who,  nevertheless,  it  is  said,  still  continued  to  reside 
there  unmolested  by  the  civil  power,  and  to  keep  possession  of  a  great 
part  of  the  stipend.  The  incumbent  of  Collace  was  not  deprived  till 
1G02,  and  he  is  described  as  a"  most  respectable  man,  neither  did  he 
occasion  any  trouble  in  the  parish  after  his  deprivation."  Mr  Alex- 
ander Balneavis,  minister  of  Tibbermuir,  was  libelled  in  the  usual  man- 
ner for  disobeying  the  Government  and  not  reading  the  proclamations. 
He  was  also  accused  of  not  residing  in  his  parish,  but  constantly  on  his 
own  estate  of  Carnbadie,  about  eight  miles  distant ;  and,  "  though  he 
came  pretty  regularly  to  preach,  yet  it  was  frequently  the  Sabbath 
morning  before  he  came,  and  he  often  returned  to  Carnbadie  the  same 
evening."  He  was  charged  with  being  "  guilty  of  unnecessary  travel- 
ling on  the  Sabbath  betwixt  Carnbadie  and  Tibbermuir,  and  crossing 
the  river  Tay  twice  in  boats."  Mr  Balneavis  did  not  appear,  and  he 
sent  no  defence.  He  was  deprived,  but  "  he  did  not  altogether  ac- 
quiesce in  the  sentence,  for  the  Presbytery  sometimes  heard  both  of  his 
preaching  in  private  houses,  and  of  his  baptizing  children."* 

In  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  which  then  contained  six  incumbents,  the 
clergy  were  all  superseded  by  Presbyterian  ministers  in  July  IGOO.t 
There  is  nothing  particularly  recorded  respecting  the  proceedings,  and 
the  registers  of  that  period  are  not  extant,  having  been  accidentally 
consumed  by  fire,  and  the  present  reach  no  farther  back  than  about  the 
beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century 4  But  n'om  the  instances  already 
given  throughout  the  various  districts  of  the  country,  it  is  sufficiently 

■  Perth  MSS.,  Advocates'  Library,  Edinburgh. 

t  Town  Council  Records. 

X  Information  communicated  by  Dr  Gilchrist,  one  of  the  ministers  of  the  Canon- 
gate,  and  clerk  of  the  Presbyter y  of  Edinburgh.  In  the  Town  Council  Records 
the  following  entrj  occurs: — **  The  said  Council  remove  Mr  William  Balkhead  from 
bifl  office  of  chaplain  to  the  Trinity  Hospital,  because  be  has  n->t  given  obedience  to 
authority,  by  praying  for  King  William  and  Qneen  Mary,  but  allow  him  bis  stipend 
till  Lammas  next."  They  appear  to  have  acted  with  considerable  generosity  to- 
wards t!i"  Dean  of  Edinburgh,  the  Rev,  John  Annand. 


134  HISTORY  OF  THE 

apparent  in  what  manner  the  proceedings  were  conducted  to  eject  the 
incumbents.  "  Nothing,"  says  an  authority  of  the  time,  "  came  before 
the  Presbyteries  except  citations  and  libels  against  Episcopal  ministers, 
and  to  make  the  greater  despatch  they  sat  every  week." 

The  compiler  of  the  Perth  MS.  Register  mentions,  that  "  many  of  the 
incumbents  or  deprived  Episcopal  ministers  went  into  England,  where, 
it  is  said,  some  of  them  acquired  a  great  reputation  by  their  learning, 
piety,  and  devotional  writings."  This  corroborates  Principal  Monro's 
declaration  already  quoted — "  I  must  tell  you  that  I  know  not  a  more 
unblameable  company  of  men  upon  earth  than  the  Episcopal  clergy  of 
Scotland ;  nor  do  I  know  any  five  of  them  in  the  whole  nation  who 
could  not  undergo  the  severest  examinations  used  in  the  Christian 
Church  preparatory  to  ordination."  From  the  manner  in  which  the 
intimation  of  the  future  proceedings  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  is  men- 
tioned in  the  Perth  Register,  it  appears  as  if  intended  to  be  general, 
and  not  confined  to  the  members  of  the  Episcopal  Presbytery  of  Perth. 
It  is  farther  stated — "  King  William  settled  pensions  on  the  deprived 
Bishops,  which  pensions  were  continued  by  Queen  Anne.  A  large  col- 
lection in  England  was  made  in  Queen  Anne's  time  for  the  ejected  Epis- 
copal clergy  in  Scotland  ;  also  many  of  the  Presbyterians  are  said  to 
have  given  liberally  to  their  relief."* 

The  consequence  of  the  rabbling  by  the  mobs,  and  ejecting  of  the 
clergy  by  the  newly  constituted  Presbyterian  authorities,  may  be  anti- 
cipated. A  great  part  of  the  country  was  left  destitute  of  religious  in- 
struction, and  of  the  rites  and  services  of  the  Church,  for  a  considerable 
time,  until  the  Presbyterians  found  persons  of  their  own  principles  to 
fill  the  vacant  benefices.  In  the  two  important  diocesan  Presbyteries 
of  Haddington  and  Dunbar  were  only  five  Presbyterian  ministers,  al- 
though these  Presbyteries  contained  at  that  time  nearly  thirty  parishes 
within  their  bounds.  The  Presbyteries  of  Dunse  and  Chirnside,  in  Ber- 
wickshire and  Roxburghshire,  consisting  of  between  twenty  and  thirty 
parishes,  mustered  the  like  number.  There  was  only  one  Presbyterian 
minister  in  the  Presbytery  of  Auchterarder,  which  contained  nearly 
twenty  parishes,  and  when  the  adjoining  Presbj'tery  was  added  three 
persons  were  the  whole  Presbyterian  strength.     Sir  Colin  Campbell  de- 

*  Hospital  Registers,   Advocates'  Library,  MS.  p.  283. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  135 

clared,  in  the  first  Presbyterian  General  Assembly  after  the  Revolution, 
that  "  for  twenty  miles  westward  of  Perth  there  were  but  two  or  three 
ministers,  meaning  those  of  the  Presbyterian  persuasion,  which  shows 
how  little  agreeable  either  their  persons  or  government  are  to  the 
people."  This  fact  is  corroborated  by  the  Perth  MS.  so  often  quoted. 
"  In  order,"  says  the  compiler,  himself  a  Presbyterian  minister,  "  that 
a  sufficient  number  of  qualified  ministers  and  ruling  elders  might  meet, 
there  were  added  to  the  Presbytery  of  Perth  the  whole  Presbytery  of 
Dunlecld  and  one  half  of  the  Presbytery  of  Auchterarder.  The  country, 
therefore,  over  which  they  had  legal  jurisdiction  was  very  extensive  ; 
but  there  were  only  six  ministers  qualified  to  meet,  and  two  or  three 
ruling  elders,  who  occasionally  gave  their  assistance,  and  who  were  men  of 
mean  station  in  life."  We  are  farther  told  by  the  same  authority,  that 
the  discontent  of  the  generality  of  the  people  at  the  deprivation  and 
ejection  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  was  great;  and  he  mentions  a  preacher 
called  "  Mr  John  Anderson,  appointed  by  the  Presbyterian  judicatories 
to  officiate  at  Perth,  who  was  obliged  to  be  taken  under  the  protection 
of  the  King's  troops,  and  was  accompanied  every  day  to  and  from  the 
pulpit  by  a  military  guard  /"* 

Much  might  be  said  on  this  important  subject,  which  could  be  con, 
firmed  by  the  reluctant  or  unwitting  testimony  of  the  Presbyterians 
themselves,  but  the  following  extract  from  a  contemporary  writer  at  the 
time  gives  a  complete  and  happy  illustration  of  the  state  of  Scotland, 
and  the  proceedings  of  the  Presbyterian  ministers  at  the  ejection  of  the 
Episcopal  parochial  clergy: — "  More  than  a  third  part  of  the  churches 
in  tho  kingdom  wanted  ministers,  and  the  most  of  them  for  more  than 
a  year  ;  but,  as  if  that  was  only  a  small  matter,  it  was  overlooked,  and 
all  pains  and  care  laid  out  in  emptying  those  churches  where  the  Epis- 
copal ministers  continued  to  preach.  Their  [the  Presbyterian]  beloved 
WestWBA  destitute  of  ministers,  the  churches  there  and  in  Galloway 
were  almost  all  shut  up ;  BO  that  when  tho  Assembly  met,  two  ministers 
declared  before  them  that  where  they  lived  there  was  not  so  much  as 
the  bee  of  a  church,  there  being  no  ministers  but  themselves  and  car 
other.  Vet  none  were  sent  thither,  but  the J  showed  greater  inclination 
fo  seal  themselves  in  the  Lothian-  and  the  South  of  Scotland,  which  is 

*  Hospital  Registers,  BIS.  pp.  I7».  177. 


136  HISTOHY  OF  THE 

indeed  a  better  country,  but  where  there  was  less  room  for  them,  and 
where  they  were  not  so  acceptable  to  the  people.  It  was  sad  and  lament- 
able to  see  so  many  desolate  congregations  in  all  parts  of  the  land,  such 
multitudes  of  persons  without  the  gospel,  and  without  the  direction  of 
pastors  ;  and  yet  they  [the  Presbyterians]  would  endeavour  to  deprive 
those  of  this  blessing  who,  by  the  good  providence  of  God,  had  it  still 
continued  with  them,  However,  they  did  this  either  to  force  the  people 
to  join  with  them  when  none  other  could  be  had,  or,  being  conscious  of 
their  own  ignorance  and  inability,  they  thought  it  neither  fit  nor  their 
interest  to  tolerate  those  who  were  more  judicious,  and  who  could  accus- 
tom the  people  to  sensible  and  solid  discourses,  which  held  forth  the 
true  nature  and  design  of  the  gospel,  and  which  armed  people  against 
fanatical  delusions.  When  some  were  asked  why  they  studied  to  cast 
out  all  the  Episcopal  clergy,  seeing  they  could  not  yet  supply  their 
churches,  and  why  they  would  preach  in  a  meeting-house,  where  there 
was  an  Episcopal  minister  unblameable  in  his  life  and  doctrine,  and 
draw  the  people  from  him  rather  than  go  to  another  parish  which  wanted 
a  pastor  altogether,  it  was  answered —  That  there  was  less  prejudice  both 
to  church  and  people  by  the  want  of  preaching,  than  by  the  preaching  of 
men  of  Episcopal  principles  and  persuasions  ;  and  Mr  Frazer  of  Brae,  in 
a  sermon  before  the  Parliament,  declared —  That  it  was  better  that  the 
temple  of  the  Lord  did  lie  sometime  unbuilt  and  unrepaired,  than  be  reared 
up  by  Gibeonites  and  Samaritans" 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  137 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


OPPOSITION  OF  THE  PEOPLE  IN  VARIOUS  DISTRICTS  TO  THE  SETTLEMENT  OF 

PRESBYTERIAN  MINISTERS. 

The  facts  already  given  completely  refute  the  idea  long  entertained 
and  asserted,  that  the  whole  Scottish  nation  welcomed  the  establishment 
of  Presbyterianism,  and  felt  Episcopacy  to  be  an  "  intolerable  grievance." 
The  attention  of  the  reader  is  now  requested  to  the  following  details, 
many  of  them  the  admissions  of  Presbyterian  writers,  which  show  the 
determined  resistance  of  the  people  in  various  dioceses  to  the  ejection 
of  their  pastors,  and  the  intrusion  of  Presbyterian  ministers.  Some  of 
the  Episcopal  clergy  were  indeed  enabled  to  retain  their  benefices  by 
the  influence  of  the  nobility  and  gentry,  but  in  the  great  majority  of 
cases  the  people  were  bitterly  opposed  to  the  new  system  of  church 
government. 

The  act,  it  has  been  repeatedly  stated,  which  established  Presbyte- 
rianism, gave  the  new  judicatories  authority  "  to  try  and  purge  out  all 
insufficient,  negligent,  scandalous,  and  erroneous  ministers"  and  we  have 
seen  that  sentences  of  deprivation  were  accordingly  passed,  but  it  was 
not  easy  to  put  theso  sentences  every  where  in  force.  In  the  counties 
north  of  the  Tay,  the  nobility  and  gentry,  and  the  great  majority  of  the 
people,  were  decidedly  in  favour  of  Episcopacy,  and  it  was  well  known  that 
William  III.  had  declared  his  desiro  in  very  strong  terms,  that  those  of 
the  clergy  who  took  the  oaths  of  allegiance  to  his  Government  should  bo 
allowed  to  retain  their  benefices  during  life,  without  being  subjected  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  presbyteries.  This  wish  of  the  King  gave  great 
offence  to  the  Presbyterians,  who  were  nevertheless  compelled  to  submil 
in  it  from  various  causes,  though  they  took  effectual  *-;wr  that  those 


138  HISTORY  OP  TUE 

clergy  should  have  no  successors  of  the  same  principles,  and  no  share 
in  the  administration  of  their  system.  Some  submitted  to  all  the  condi- 
tions, and  were  gladly  enrolled  as  members  of  the  new  ecclesiastical 
government.  On  the  other  hand,  "  those  who  had  taken  the  oaths  re- 
quired bylaw,  and  prayed  publicly  for  the  King  and  Queen's  Majesties, 
but  who  would  not  abjure  Episcopacy,  were  indeed  suffered  to  keep  pos- 
session of  their  churches  and  their  stipends,  but  were  perpetually  teazed 
and  harassed  by  answering  questions  concerning  their  sufficiency  and 
orthodoxy,  whilst  the  vengeance  of  the  Government,  both  civil  and  ec- 
clesiastical, fell  chiefly  on  those  who,  refusing  to  take  the  oaths  of  alle- 
giance to  King  William  and  Queen  Mary,  were  henceforth  distinguish- 
ed by  the  denomination  of  Nonjurors.  Among  the  Nonjurors  are  to  be 
classed  all  the  Bishops,  and  almost  all  the  inferior  clergy  who  had  been 
driven  from  their  parishes  by  a  lawless  rabble,  before  Episcopacy  was 
legally  abolished.  To  these  must  be  added  a  very  great  number  of  the 
most  learned  and  respectable  of  the  parochial  clergy,  who,  disdaining  to 
conceal  their  sentiments  and  retain  their  livings  by  such  contrivances  as 
those,  by  which  many  who  were  as  really  attached  to  the  exiled  prince 
as  they  were  suffered  to  retain  their  livings,  voluntarily  retired  from 
their  parishes. '  '* 

The  compiler  of  the  Perth  MS.  says — "  In  the  West  of  Scotland  the 
ejection  of  the  Episcopal  ministers  by  numbers  of  tumultuous  people 
began  December  25,  1688.  In  a  few  months,  about  three  hundred  mi- 
nisters were  in  that  manner  forcibly  excluded  from  their  parishes.  But 
in  the  North  of  Scotland  the  situation  of  affairs  was  quite  different,  not 
only  the  nobility  and  gentry,  but  also  the  bulk  of  the  people,  were  fondly 
attached  to  the  Episcopal  incumbents.  In  the  Presbytery  of  Perth, 
such  ministers  as  had  given  greatest  offence  by  their  disaffection  to  the 
new  Government  were  deprived  very  early,  not  icith  the  minds  of  the 
people,  but  contrary  thereto."  In  enumerating  the  parishes  from  which 
the  clergy  were  ejected  he  observes — "  But  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  pre- 
vail afterwards  with  most  of  these  parishes  to  accept  of  Presbyterian  mi- 
nisters." 

We  are  informed  respecting  the  county  and  Diocese  of  Moray,  and 
the  North  of  Scotland,  that  "the  Episcopal  ministers  conformed  generally 

*   Scottish  Episcopal  Magazine,  1821,  vol.  ii.  p.  180. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  130 

to  the  civil  government,  and  were  indulged  to  keep  their  churches  and 
benefices  during  life.  By  this  means  the  number  of  Presbyterian  mi- 
nisters was  so  small  that  they  made  but  one  Presbytery,  called  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Moray,  till  the  year  1702."*  Upwards  of  forty  of  the  Epis- 
copal clergy  in  the  Diocese  of  Moray  retained  their  benefices,  though 
it  was  well  known  that  they  joined  the  laity  in  endeavouring  to  restore 
King  James,  and  re-establish  the  Church.  Some  were  continued  in 
their  parishes  by  the  influence  of  the  patrons  and  heritors,  and  others 
by  the  inclination  of  the  people,  who  threatened  the  Presbyterian  mini- 
sters with  the  most  summary  punishment  if  they  attempted  to  supplant 
their  pastors.  In  the  town  of  Elgin,  the  magistrates,  influenced  it  is 
said  by  Lord  Duffus,  resisted  the  settlement  of  a  Presbyterian  minister, 
and  kept  the  benefice  vacant  eight  years,  In  the  important  town  of 
Inverness,  at  the  death  of  one  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  in  1691,  the 
magistrates  and  citizens  would  not  allow  a  Presbyterian  minister  to 
succeed  to  the  vacancy,  and  for  ten  years  no  one  could  effect  a  peaceable 
settlement  in  that  town.  They  even  surrounded  the  parish  church  on 
one  occasion  with  armed  men,  and  placed  double  sentries  at  the  doors, 
that  no  Presbyterian  minister  might  enter;  and  in  August  1691,  the 
Earl  of  Leven's  regiment  was  actually  ordered  thither  to  preserve  the 
peace  of  the  town  and  district,  and  to  protect  the  few  Presbyterians 
from  the  violence  of  the  excited  Episcopalians.! 

In  the  Diocese  of  Aberdeen  the  people  were  most  inveterately  opposed 
to  Presbyterianism,  and  in  the  city  of  Aberdeen  the  episcopal  form  of 
worship  was  generally  observed  by  the  citizens  after  the  Restoration, 
although  a  number  of  them  continued  to  favour  the  Roman  Catholic 
religion.  We  are  told  that  "  although  the  Episcopal  form  of  govern- 
ment had  been  abolished  at  the  epoch  of  the  Revolution,  yet  it  appears 
i  hat  the  ministers  and  session  of  Aberdeen  paid  little  regard  to  the  law  by 
\\  [rich  it  was  annulled.  They  persevered  in  the  exercise  of  their  several 
functions  under  the  authority  of  the  Bishop  for  several  years  after- 
wards, without  interruption."]:  It  was  not  till  169-4  that  the  Presby- 
terians formed  the  new  church  establishment  in  Aberdeen,  about  which 
time  the  three  ministers  of  St  Nicolas,  Dr  William  Blair,  Dr  George 

*  History  of  tin  Province  of  Moray,  bj  Mr  Lachlan  Shaw,  ne*  edition,  it.'.  1826, 
p.  341. 

f  Shaw's  Hietorj  of  Moray,  p.  418,  ill*. 

\  Kennedy's  Annals  of  At  i,  11",  vol.  ii.  [»•  19,  50 


140  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Garden,  and  Dr  Andrew  Burnett,  were  ejected  from  their  benefices  by 
a  Committee  of  the  General  Assembly.  The  deprivations  in  the  county 
and  Diocese  excited  the  greatest  opposition,  and  in  many  cases  were 
successfully  resisted. 

In  the  Diocese  of  Ross  the  same  feeling  prevailed.  Inverness  is 
already  mentioned,  and  in  the  united  parishes  of  Moy  and  Dalarossie, 
in  that  county,  the  Episcopal  incumbent  continued  till  about  1727, 
when  the  first  Presbyterian  minister  was  settled.  Mr  George  Camp- 
bell, minister  of  Alvah  in  Banffshire,  kept  possession  of  his  parish  till 
1718,  when  he  was  ejected.  The  same  remark  applies  to  other  pa- 
rishes, and  in  many  instances  there  was  no  possibility  of  getting  rid  of 
the  clergy  till  their  death.  In  the  Diocese  of  Brechin,  Presbyterian  - 
ism  was  decidedly  unpopular,  and  its  introduction  into  the  parishes 
often  threatened  to  excite  serious  commotions.  An  Episcopal  minister 
officiated  in  the  parish  of  Tannadyce  till  the  year  1716,  when  he  was 
ejected  for  being  favourable  to  the  enterprise  of  1715.  The  parishion- 
ers got  a  Presbyterian  minister,  but  in  the  course  of  six  years  he  be- 
came so  unpopular,  and  was  so  grossly  slandered,  as  to  be  deposed.* 

It  would  be  easy  to  lay  before  the  reader  numerous  illustrations  of  the 
opposition  of  the  people  in  various  dioceses  to  the  establishment  of 
Presbyterianism,  and  of  strong  attachment  to  the  Episcopal  clergy,  but 
the  limits  of  the  present  work  admit  only  of  the  most  prominent  being 
noticed.  Mr  Peddie,  incumbent  of  the  parish  of  Lunan  in  the  diocese 
of  Brechin,  died  minister  of  that  parish  in  1713.  He  bequeathed  some 
plate  for  the  communion  service  in  the  church  of  Lunan,  on  this  singu- 
lar condition,  that  any  Episcopal  congregation  within  seven  miles  of  the 
parish  should  have  the  use  of  it  when  required.  "It  is  said  that  he 
was  among  the  last  surviving  clergymen  of  the  Episcopal  persuasion  in 
this  part  of  the  country  who  refused  to  take  the  oaths  to  the  new  Go- 
vernment, nevertheless,  along  with  others  he  was  allowed  to  remain  in 
his  charge  without  molestation.  He  was  much  respected  by  the  Jacob- 
ite families  in  the  neighbourhood,  who  came  from  various  quarters  to 
attend  his  ministry,  and  it  is  handed  down  by  tradition,  that  on  the 
Sabbath  day  a  long  line  of  carriages  would  have  been  seen  approaching 
the  humble  church  of  Lunan.  It  is  at  least  certain  that  for  several 
years,  as  appears  from  the  Presbytery  records,  the  people,  countenanced 

*  New  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland — Forfarshire,  p.  203. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  141 

by  the  heritors,  unanimously  resisted  the  introduction  of  a  Presby- 
terian clergyman,  till  strong  measures  were  taken  to  effect  the  settle- 
ment of  a  Mr  Irvine,  afterwards  minister  of  Maryton.''* 

The  Presbytery  of  Perth  lies  in  the  archiepiscopal  diocese  of  St  An- 
drews, and  in  it  there  was  the  most  vigorous  opposition.  The  incum- 
bent of  the  parish  of  Methven  was  enabled  to  retain  his  benefice  till  his 
death  in  1693.  The  Laird  of  Methven,  the  patron  of  the  parish,  re- 
fused to  deliver  the  keys  of  the  church  to  the  new  Presbytery,  and  pre- 
vented a  Mr  Dunning,  who  was  appointed  to  declare  the  parish  vacant, 
from  entering  it.  He  reported  to  the  Presbytery,  that  "  on  Sabbath, 
January  28,  1694,  he  went  to  the  parish  kirk  of  Methven,  where  he 
found  a  great  rabble  of  people  stopping  his  access,  and  that  Mr  David 
Young,  late  incumbent  of  Strowan  and  Monievaird,  who  had  been  de- 
prived by  their  Majesties'  Privy  Council,  was  within  the  said  kirk  at 
the  same  time."  He  preached  to  those  who  were  disposed  to  listen  to 
him  in  the  churchyard,  and  declared  the  parish  vacant  according  to  the 
Presbyterian  form.  The  Laird  subsequently  offered  terms  of  agreement 
on  the  condition  of  a  preacher  named  Moncrieff  being  admitted,  which 
were  accepted  ;  but,  says  the  Register,  "  there  were  uncommon  circum- 
stances attending  his  ordination.  When  the  Presbytery,  with  their 
Moderator,  Mr  Robert  Anderson,  at  their  head,  went  to  Methven,  and 
were  proceeding  to  the  kirk,  they  found  the  Laird  of  Balgowan,  Busbie, 
David  Smythe,  brother  of  the  Laird  of  Methven,  and  several  parish- 
ioners, standing  as  a  guard  before  the  kirk  door.  Mr  Robert,  in  name 
of  the  Presbytery,  desired  ho  might  have  access  to  perform  the  inten- 
tion on  which  lie  and  his  brethren  had  come  there,  but  he  was  answered 
with  a  positive  refusal.  !!>'  and  his  brethren  thereupon  protested,  and 
then  met  together  in  a  house  near  the  kirk  to  consider  what  they  were 
to  do  next.  There  they  determined  that  Mr  Robert  should  preach  in 
the  kirkyard,  and,  as  they  could  not  get  access  to  the  kirk,  should  per- 
form in  the  kirkyard  tho  solemnities  of  the  ordination,  which  was  ac- 
cordingly done."! 

The  parish  of  Forgandenny  did  not  receive  a  Presbyterian  minister 
till   L695,   and   that  of  Forteviot  till   1696.     These  parishes  had  been 


•  New  Statistical  Aoooonl  of  Scotland — Forfarshire,  p  -; 
j-  Perth  BfSi  Adrocates'  Library,  Edinburgh. 


142  HISTORY  OF  THE 

vacant  from  the  year  1690,  but  the  opposition  of  the  people  to  Presby- 
terianism  was  such  that  the  new  judicatories  were  afraid  to  venture 
among  them.  Mr  Liddell,  Episcopal  minister  of  Scone,  in  which  pa- 
rish is  the  palatial  residence  of  the  Noble  family  of  Mansfield,  "  was  a 
man  of  extraordinary  good  character.  He  is  yet  spoken  of  with  much 
respect  by  the  people,  who  heard  from  their  parents  many  good  things 
concerning  him.  Though  he  did  not  conform  at  the  Revolution,  yet 
his  noble  parishioner  David  fifth  Viscount  of  Stormont,  father  of  Wil- 
liam (first)  Earl  of  Mansfield,  long  protected  him  in  the  possession  of 
the  parish,  and  in  the  exercise  of  his  ministry."*  The  first  Presby- 
terian minister  of  Scone  was  not  able  to  officiate  till  1698,  and  Mr  Lid- 
dell "afterwards  gave  offence  to  the  Presbytery  by  administering  di- 
vine ordinances,"  and  by  preaching  in  what  the  Presbyterians  were 
pleased  to  designate  conventicles. 

The  incumbent  of  Kilspindy  continued  for  more  than  seven  years 
after  the  Revolution  in  possession  of  his  parish.  The  Presbyterians 
prosecuted  him  in  every  possible  manner,  but  he  set  them  at  defiance, 
and  treated  their  sentence  of  deposition  with  contempt.  We  are  told 
that  "ministers  sent  from  time  to  time  by  the  Presbytery  sometimes 
were  allowed  to  preach  at  the  kirk-door,  and  sometimes  were  not  allow- 
ed by  the  people  to  come  near  the  kirk  at  all."i  At  length  the  Presby- 
terian minister  obtained  possession  in  1698. 

Mr  Hall,  incumbent  of  St  Madoes,  was  "  vigorously  supported  a  long 
time  by  his  heritors  in  the  possession  of  his  parish.  He  was  in  the  be- 
ginning attached  to  the  Revolution,  and  mentioned  King  William  and 
Queen  Mary  in  his  prayers,  but  when  he  found  that  the  Episcopal  Church 
was  wholly  overturned  under  the  new  administration,  and  that  Acts  of 
Parliament  and  of  Privy  Council,  which  appeared  to  him  too  severe, 
were  made  from  time  to  time,  not  only  ejecting  the  former  ministers, 
but  forbidding  all  Episcopal  ministers  in  Scotland,  however  well  affected 
to  the  civil  constitution,  to  execute  any  part  of  the  ministerial  office,  he 
seems  to  have  become  less  loyal."\  Mr  Hall  was  deposed  by  the  Presby- 
tery, after  various  petty  proceedings  against  him,  in  1697,  for  not  pray- 
ing for  King  William,  and  "  for  that  he  had  baptized  a  child  in  his  own 
kirk  brought  from  the  parish  of  Kilspindy." — "  Mr  William  Dick,  who 

*  Perth  MS.  f  Ibid.  \  Ibid. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  143 

was  appointed  to  preach  at  St  Madoes,  and  intimate  the  Presbytery's 
sentence,  reported,  September  1,  1G97,  that  he  went  for  that  purpose, 
but  met  ivith  such  opposition  from  the  Lairds  of  Pitfour,  elder  and  younger, 
and  their  associates,  that  he  could  get  no  access  to  preach  in  the 
kirk,  nor  on  the  ground  of  the  parish,  being  all  Pitfour 's  land  [property]. 
Yet,  notwithstanding,  he  intimated  the  sentence,  and  declared  the  kirk 
vacant,  and  required  old  Pitfour,  and  another  man  and  a  woman,  to  be 
witnesses,  all  others  being  kept  at  a  considerable  distance  from  him."* 
The  first  Presbyterian  minister  did  not  obtain  possession  till  1G99,  but 
"  he  felt  himself  in  such  an  uneasy  situation"  that  he  left  it  about  the 
end  of  three  months. 

Mr  William  Popley,  incumbent  of  the  parish  of  Rhynd,  "  was  long 
kept  in  possession  of  his  parish  and  exercise  of  his  ministry  by  his  noble 
parishioner,  who  resided  at  Elcho  Castle,  viz.  Margaret  Countess  of 
Wemyss  in  her  own  right,  and  dowager  of  James  Wemyss,  Lord  Burnt- 
island."! After  various  processes  against  him,  the  Presbyterians  ob- 
tained possession  of  the  parish  in  1G99.  It  appears  that  Mr  Popley 
"came  to  the  Presbytery,  July  15,  1G96,  and  delivered  up  the  keys 
of  the  kirk  doors.  The  utensils  of  the  kirk  he  also  afterwards  deliver- 
ed to  commissioners  sent  by  the  Presbytery.  But  notwithstanding  his 
resignation  he  continued  to  preach,  though  not  in  the  church  of  Rhynd, 
but  in  the  fields  or  private  houses,  till  he  was  ordered  by  a  particular  act 
of  Privy  Council  totally  to  remove  at  Whitsunday  1700. "J 

The  incumbent  of  Redgorton  was  deposed  in  1691,  but  he  "  still  con- 
tinued to  officiate  in  his  parish,  and,  together  with  the  Laird  of  Bal- 
gowan,  refused  to  deliver  up  to  the  Presbytery  the  keys  of  the  kirk.  At 
last  the  Privy  Council,  by  their  act,  June  1G98,  deprived  him  of  the  be 
notice  of  Redgorton,  and  ordered  that  he  and  his  family  should  depart 
out  of  the  bounds  of  the  parish  before  the  next  Martinmas  at  farthest." 
It  WAS  io»t,  however,  till  April  1700  that  the  parishioner-  were  n  con- 
ciled  to  the  reception  of  a  Presbyterian  minister. 

Mr  John  Gall,  incumbent  of  Kinfauns,  "was,  according  to  many  tra- 
ditionary accounts,  a  man  of  the  most  respectable  and  amiable  character. 
lie  was  well  affected  to  the  revolution  of  civil  government,  and  thank 
ml  that  thr  three  kingdoms  were  happily  delivered  from  the  apprehen 

•  Perth  Ms.  f  [bid.  x  D>id 


144  HISTORY  OF  THE 

sions  justly  entertained  of  the  intended  introduction  of  Popery.  But 
the  utter  ruin  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  the  prosecutions  against  its 
ministers,  alienated  his  affections  from  the  new  Government,  so  that  he 
left  off  mentioning  King  William  by  name  in  his  public  prayers.  He 
was  deposed  by  the  Presbytery,  July  28,  1697,  and  Mr  David  Shaw  was 
appointed  to  declare  the  kirk  vacant,  but  met  with  such  opposition,  that 
he  could  only  be  allowed  to  preach  in  the  kirkyard,  where  he  intimated 
the  Presbytery's  sentence.  In  the  year  1698,  Council  letters  were  pro- 
cured and  executed  against  Mr  Gall,  who  then  left  the  parish  wholly, 
and  gave  no  more  trouble  to  the  Presbytery."*  His  Presbyterian  suc- 
cessor was  not  admitted  till  1700. 

The  incumbent  of  Monedie  "  kept  possession  of  the  parish  a  longtime 
after  the  Revolution.  At  last,  after  the  usual  processes,  the  doors  of 
the  kirk  were  made  patent  to  the  Presbytery,  and  Mr  James  Fleming, 
preacher  of  the  gospel,  was  ordained  and  admitted  minister  at  Monedie, 
June  26,  1701." 

In  the  Diocese  of  Dunkeld  the  same  opposition  was  offered  to  the 
settlement  of  Presbyterian  ministers  in  the  parishes.  The  parish  of 
Muthill  may  be  here  instanced.  A  preacher  named  William  Hally  was 
appointed  to  succeed  the  ejected  incumbent,  but  he  had  the  greatest  op- 
position to  encounter.  Almost  the  whole  population  of  the  parish  were 
Episcopalians  ;  they  held  out  against  Mr  Hally 's  ordination,  and  the  in- 
cumbent kept  possession  of  the  parish  church.  "  The  opposition,"  ac- 
cording to  the  Presbytery  record,  "  proceeded  to  the  extent  of  a  riot, 
several  individuals  of  the  parish  kept  the  doors  of  the  kirk  and  kirk- 
yard, armed  with  swords  and  staves,  which  they  made  use  of  in  beating 
and  wounding  several  that  had  come  there  to  hear  the  word."  Hally 
was  obliged  to  officiate  a  long  time  in  the  churchyard,  and  was  often 
annoyed  by  the  parishioners,  who  viewed  him  as  an  intruder  ;  and  it  was 
only  by  the  interference  of  the  Duke  of  Atholl  that  he  obtained  posses- 
sion of  the  parish  church  in  March  1705. 

The  following  remarkable  circumstance  occurred  in  the  united  parishes 
of  Glenorchy  and  Inishail  in  the  Diocese  of  Argyll,  and  is  related  by 
Dr  Macintyre,  the  Presbyterian  incumbent  when  Sir  John  Sinclair 
published  the  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland  in  1793.     "  At  the  Re- 

*  Perth  MS. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUItCH,  145 

volution,  when  Presbytery  was  last  re-established  in  North  Britain,  a 
Mr  Dugald  Lindsay  was  the  Episcopal  minister  of  Glenorchy.  Mr 
Lindsay  would  not  conform.  Pressed  by  the  Synod  of  Argyll,  the 
Noble  proprietor  [the  Earl  of  Breadalbane]  of  the  country  reluctantly 
wrote  a  letter  of  invitation  to  a  Presbyterian  probationer  in  the  shire  of 
Fife,  to  be  minister  of  Glenorchy.  He  accepted,  came  on  the  close  of 
a  week  to  the  parish,  but  could  find  no  room  to  receive  him,  or  person  to 
make  him  welcome.  In  his  distress  he  was  drove  to  the  house  of  the 
man  whom  he  came  to  supplant,  and  was  received  with  a  cordiality  and 
kindness  becoming  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  Over  the  whole  parish 
there  was  a  strong  ferment.  People  of  all  ages  and  conditions  assembled 
from  all  quarters  in  the  churchyard  on  Sabbath,  long  before  the  usual 
hour  of  worship.  At  the  appearance  of  the  stranger,  accompanied  by 
their  own  pastor,  there  was  a  general  murmur  of  indignation.  Twelve 
armed  men  with  drawn  swords  surrounded  the  astonished  intruder.  Two 
bagpipes  sounded  the  March  of  Death.  Unmoved  by  the  tears  and  re- 
monstrances of  Mr  Lindsay,  in  this  hostile  and  awful  form,  they  pro- 
ceeded with  their  prisoner  to  the  boundary  of  the  parish  and  of  the 
county.  There,  on  his  bended  knees,  he  solemnly  engaged  never  more 
to  enter  the  parish,  or  trouble  any  person  for  the  occurrences  of  that 
day.  He  was  allowed  to  depart  in  peace,  and  he  kept  his  promise. 
The  Synod  of  Argyll  were  incensed  ;  time  cooled  their  ardour  ;  the  pro- 
prietor was  indulgent,  Mr  Lindsay  was  deserving,  and  the  people  loved 
him.  He  continued  in  the  undisturbed  possession  of  his  charge  till  his 
death,  more  than  thirty  years  after  the  foresaid  event."* 

Innumerable  other  instances  might  be  given  of  the  strongest  mani- 
festations of  attachment  to  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland,  and  re- 
spect tot  the  parochial  clergy  on  the  part  of  the  people  in  the  various 
Dioceses.  It  is  stated  by  contemporary  writers,  that  even  when  King 
James  granted  his  famous  indulgence  in  1G87,  "not  fifty  gentlemen," 
even  in  the  West  of  Scotland,  took  advantage  of  it  to  attend  the  Presby- 
terian meeting-houses,  and  scarcely  M  a  fifth  or  sixtli  part  of  the  nation 
did  so."  We  arc  farther  assured  that  "the  clergy  stood  all  for  Episco- 
pacy, there  being,  of  about  a  ibouttmd,  icaxcelj  twmty  trimmert  betwixt 

•  Sir  John  Sinclair's  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland,  rol.  viii.  p.  354,    .>  > 

K 


146  HISTORY  OF  THE 

the  Bishop  and  the  Presbyterian  Moderator,"  and  that  the  members  of 
the  College  of  Justice,  as  the  several  legal  institutions  in  Edinburgh  are 
collectively  called,  and  those  of  the  College  of  Physicians  at  Edinburgh, 
were  so  averse  to  the  establishment  of  Presbyterianism,  that  "  the  gene- 
rality of  them  were  ready  last  summer  (1689)  to  take  arms  in  defence 
of  the  Episcopal  ministers." 

The  inhabitants,  for  example,  of  the  parish  of  Coldingham  in  Berwick- 
shire were  stanch  Episcopalians  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  and  zeal- 
ously opposed  the  induction  of  the  Presbyterian  minister,  a  person 
named  John  Dysart,  who  had  been  removed  from  Langton  to  Coldingham 
in  1694  by  sanction  of  the  Privy  Council.  They  were  so  strongly  op- 
posed to  the  introduction  of  Presbyterianism,  that  it  was  deemed  neces- 
sary to  employ  a  body  of  military  to  prevent  a  riot.  Dysart  obtained 
possession  of  the  parish  church,  but  few  of  the  parishioners  would  listen 
to  his  sermons,  and  they  engaged  an  Episcopal  clergyman,  who  for  seve- 
ral years  officiated  in  a  barn,  situated  a  short  distance  from  the  parish 
church,  and  whom  they  supported  by  voluntary  contributions.*  The 
following  extract  from  the  records  of  the  parish  shows  the  little  respect 
in  which  the  Presbyterian  authorities  were  held  by  the  people  years 
after  the  Revolution  :  "  June  28, 1696 — Joseph  Minto  was  found  in  time 
of  divine  service  idling  away  his  time,  lying  upon  a  heather  stack  or 
turf ;  and  being  interrogated  by  the  elders  what  he  was  doing  there,  and 
why  he  was  out  of  the  church,  answered — What  was  that  to  them9:  The 
elders  told  him  that  it  was  not  the  first  time  they  had  found  him  break- 
ing the  Lord's  Day.  He  answered,  that  it  shall  not  be  the  last  time 
neither.  Being  further  reproved  for  the  sin,  and  exhorted  to  repentance 
and  reformation,  he  answered,  that  it  was  an  ill  ivorld  since  the  like  of 
them  were  reproving  folks  for  sin.  The  Session,  considering  the  per- 
verseness  of  the  youth,  and  that  his  parents  were  frequenters  of  the 
schismatical  meeting-house  [were  Episcopalians],  did  recommend  to  the 
minister  to  deal  privately  with  him."t 

The  ancient  episcopal  city  of  Brechin  in  Forfarshire  is  already  men- 
tioned. Its  ecclesiastical  state  at  the  Revolution,  as  evincing  the  dis- 
like of  the  citizens  to  the  Presbyterian  Establishment,  may  be  inferred 

'    Carr's  History  of  Coldingham,  p.  213.  f  Ibid.  p.  213,  214. 


SCOTTISH  EFISCOPAL  CHURCH.  147 

from  the  following  particulars  preserved  by  an  intelligent  local  writer. 
The  incumbent  specified,  Mr  Lawrence  Skinner,  is  designated  by  Wod- 
row  a  "  cousin  of  ours  : — he  is  pretending  to  be  an  intruding  curate  at 
Brechin."*     He  had  been  inducted  in  1650,  and  was  probably  not  epis- 
copally  ordained  till  after  the  Revolution.     We  are  told  that  he  was 
"heartily  received  by  the  magistrates  and  others  of  the  parish  as  their 
minister." — "The  officiating  clergymen  of  Brechin  at  this  date"  [the 
Revolution],  says  Mr  Black,  "were  Mr  Lawrence  Skinner  and  Mr  John 
Skinner  his  son,  and  in  continuing  to  officiate  as  clergymen  after  the 
removal  of  the  Bishop,  they  laid  themselves  open  to  no  charge  of  change 
of  doctrine.     Mr  Lawrence  Skinner  continued  to  labour  till  his  death 
in  1691.     Looking  at  the  texts  recorded  in  the  Session  Minutes,  as  those 
from  which  he  preached  on  the  29th  of  May,  the  birth-day  and  anni- 
versary of  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.,  we  should  say  he  was  a  deter- 
mined loyalist.     Mr  John  Skinner,  refusing  to  sign  the  test  required 
when  Presbyterianism  became  predominant,  was  deposed  in  1 695,  but 
he  remained  about  Brechin,  and  appears  to  have  had  no  little  influence 
among  his  flock,  notwithstanding  his  deposition."!     At  the  death  of  his 
father  he  discharged  the  whole  parochial  duty  till  1695,  when  Mr  Aber- 
crombie,  Presbyterian  minister  at  Lauder,  "took  possession  of  the  fore- 
noon's diet  of  preaching  in  the  church  of  Brechin,  and  declared  vacant 
that  charge,  formerly  supplied  by  the  Bishop."     Mr  Skinner  neverthe- 
less continued  to  officiate  in  the  afternoon  till  the  1st  of  August  1697, 
when  another  Presbyterian  minister  declared  that  charge  also  vacant. 
Mr  Skinner,  however,  resumed  his  clerical  duties  in  March  1703,  when 
he  "at  his  own  hand  invaded  the  pulpit,  took  possession  of  the  after- 
noon's  diet  of  preaching,  and  dispossessed  the  Presbytery  thereof."     In 
this  state  matters  continued  till  the  3d  of  December  that  year,  when  Mr 
John  Willison,  well  known  as  the  author  of  several  devotional  treatises, 
was  inducted  as  Presbyterian  minister. 

Public  opinion  was  strongly  in  favour  of  Mr  Skinner,  and  even  the 
Town  Council  speak  unceremoniously  of  "  Mr  Willison  and  his  prqfand- 
,.,/  Seaion" — "  Mr  Willison's  Presbyterian  principles,*  saje  Mr  Black, 
11  were  not  in  accordance  with  the  feelings  of  the  people  of  Brechin,  and 

*   Wodrow  Correspondence —Letter  t<>  Mrs  Wodrow,  rol.  i   p.  18 
f  Hietory  of  Brechin,  i>\  David  D.  Black,  Town  Clerk)  p.  09. 


148  HISTORY  OF  THE 

we  are  informed  that  he  was  persecuted  in  every  way  by  the  inhabitants, 
especially  by  those  of  the  higher  ranks,  most  of  whom  were  violent  Ja- 
cobites and  Episcopalians.  When  he  removed  to  Dundee  he  found  it 
impossible  to  command  the  services  of  a  Brechin  carter  to  convey  his 
furniture  to  his  new  charge,  so  violent  was  the  prejudice  against  him/' 
In  1705  Mr  Skinner  again  repossessed  himself  of  the  afternoon  service, 
and  Mr  Willison  reported  that  he  durst  not  encounter  the  people,  who 
were  resolved  to  support  the  Episcopal  clergyman,  "  to  which  they  were 
not  a  little  encouraged  by  the  magistrates,  who  refused  all  concurrence 
or  assistance  to  him  [Mr  Willison]  in  this  matter."  The  deposition  of 
Mr  Skinner  was  only  enforced  by  warrant  of  the  High  Court  of  Justi- 
ciary in  1709.  He  officiated  as  minister  of  the  parish  again  during  the 
continuance  of  the  Earl  of  Mark's  enterprise  in  1715,  and  he  subsequently 
in  1722  attempted  to  form  a  congregation  in  the  town,  which  he  soon 
left,  and  went  to  Edinburgh,  where  he  died  about  1725. 

The  proceedings  of  the  Presbyterian  Establishment  for  years  after 
the  Revolution  excited  much  odium  against  it  in  several  districts.  It 
appears  that  the  English  Presbyterian  leaders  had  no  particular  regard 
for  the  high  pretensions  of  their  Scottish  brethren,  if  the  celebrated  Dr 
Calamy  is  admitted  as  representing  their  sentiments.  "  I  know,"  says 
Wodrow,  "  the  Doctor  has  no  great  regard  for  our  judicatories,  and  is  a 
great  enemy  to  church  power."* 

If  it  is  asked,  then,  how  it  happened  that  the  descendants  of  those 
who  so  zealously  stood  out  for  the  Church  in  several  districts  should 
have  merged  into  the  Presbyterian  Establishment,  various  reasons  might 
be  assigned.  One  has  always  appeared  of  importance  to  the  present 
writer,  and  this  was  the  want  of  a  Liturgy  in  the  public  service  of  the 
Church.  The  mode  of  divine  worship  followed  by  the  parochial  Epis- 
copal clergy  was  nearly  the  same  as  that  practised  by  the  Presbyterians, 
and  in  many  cases  the  people  did  not  understand  the  difference  in  fun- 
damental principle  and  constitution.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the 
want  of  a  Liturgy  in  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland  at  that  period 
was  a  great  misfortune.  The  Presbyterian  Establishment  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  being  supported  by  political  power  and  the  law  ;  its  incum- 
bents were  now  entitled  to  all  the  temporalities  of  the  ejected  clergy ; 

*  Wodrow's  Analecta,  vol.  Hi.  p.  144. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  149 

and  not  a  few  of  them  took  advantage  of  the  credulity  of  the  people, 
by  representing  that  there  was  no  essential  difference  between  their 
system  and  the  Church.  To  these  and  other  reasons  may  be  added  the 
prosecutions  to  which  the  clergy  were  frequently  subjected  in  the  legal 
courts,  and  the  various  discouragements  which  the  Church  encountered 
when  it  was  repeatedly  smitten  to  the  ground  by  the  ruling  powers,  and 
discountenanced  in  every  possible  manner.  Yet  Divine  Providence  has 
preserved  this  Church,  which  has  risen  superior  to  adversity  and  mis- 
fortune, exhibiting  the  light  of  gospel  truth,  and  strong  in  the  affections 
of  its  members,  who  are  how  neither  few  nor  unimportant,  although  sup- 
planted by  an  Establishment,  from  whose  bosom  has  emanated  a  variety 
of  sects,  who  acknowledge  themselves  to  be  as  much  its  decided  enemies 
as  they  appear  to  be  of  the  Church  of  England, 


!;")()  HISTORY  OF  THE 


CHAPTER  IX, 


THE  FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  AFTER  THE  REVOLUTION 

THE  "  SCOTS  PRESBYTERIAN  ELOQUENCE"  AND  THE  "  ANSWER" CON- 
TROVERSIES OF  THE  TIMES PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  AND  OF  THE 

ESTABLISHMENT  IN  REFERENCE  TO  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 


The  first  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Establishment  was  al- 
lowed to  meet  at  Edinburgh  on  the  16th  of  October  1690,  John  second 
Lord  Carmichael,  created  Earl  of  Hyndford  in  1701,  Lord  High  Com- 
missioner. The  appointment  of  this  nobleman  as  the  royal  represent- 
ative was,  says  Mr  Skinner,  "  to  the  grievous  mortification  of  the 
fiercer  sort,  who  wished  their  good  friend  Lord  Crawfurd  to  have  been 
cloathed  with  that  important  trust."  The  proceedings  commenced  in 
the  forenoon  by  a  sermon  preached  by  a  certain  Mr  Gabriel  Cunning- 
hame,  who  is  described  as  "  moderator  of  the  last  general  meeting," 
from  the  passage  (St  John  ii.  17) — "  And  his  disciples  remembered 
that  it  was  written,  The  zeal  of  thine  house  hath  eaten  me  up."  Mr 
Cunninghame  is  accused  of  borrowing  this  sermon  verbatim  from  a  Mr 
Oliver  Bowles,  who  preached  it  before  the  English  Parliament  in  1643.* 
"  I  assure  you,"  says  a  contemporary  writer,  who  published  an  account 
of  this  Assembly,  "  that  Mr  Gabriel  made  an  exact  repetition,  and  fol- 
lowed his  author  verbatim,  only  he  left  out  some  things  in  the  close  of 
Mr  Bowles'  sermon,  and  added  some  bitter  reflections  on  the  Episcopal 


*  The  celebrated  Mr  David  Williamson,  who  died  minister  of  St  Cuthbert's,  or  the 
West  Kirk,  Edinburgh,  the  "  Dainty  Davie"  of  the  well  known  Scottish  ballad,  com. 
posed  on  a  noted  amorous  adventure  of  his  related  in  the  Memoirs  of  Captain  John 
Creighton,  written  by  Doan  Swift,  is  also  accused  of  borrowing  the  greater  part  of  a 
sermon  which  he  preached  before  the  Parliament  from  Bishop  Brownrig.  See  "  The 
Spirit  of  Calumny  and  Slander  Examined,"  &c.  1693. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUKCH.  151 

party.  There  was  a  parallel  carried  on  between  Presbytery  and  that 
miracle  of  our  Saviour,  in  whipping  the  buyers  and  sellers  out  of  the 
Temple  ;  the  setting  up  of  Presbytery  at  this  time  was  compared  to  the 
work  of  Reformation,  and  was  made  a  more  wonderful  and  signal'act  of 
Providence  ;  the  Episcopal  party  were  called  formal  and  nominal  Pro- 
testants,  who,  professing  the  fundamentals,  did  pervert  and  corrupt  the 
very  doctrine,  and  all  the  ordinances,  of  Jesus  Christ."  In  the  afternoon 
Mr  Patrick  Simson,  described  as  "  moderator  of  the  preceding  general 
meeting,"  preached  from  Zach.  iii.  7  ;  and,  says  the  writer  above  quoted, 
"  when  his  matter  and  expression  were  considered,  no  one  thought  his  ser- 
mon was  borrowed,  as  that  in  the  forenoon  had  been.  He  ascribed  to  their 
meeting  a  supremacy  absolute  and  immediate,  next  under  Christ  him- 
self." Nevertheless,  Mr  Gabriel  Cunninghame  "  did,  in  the  Assembly's 
name,  represent  to  his  Grace  [the  Lord  High  Commissioner]  how  great 
a  mercy  it  was  to  this  Church  and  Kingdom,  that  their  Majesties  had 
countenanced  this  Assembly  with  their  authority,  and  honoured  it  with 
a  representative  of  their  royal  persons."* 

The  contemporary  writer  informs  us  that  this  General  Assembly  was 
composed  of  only  one  hundred  and  eighty  persons.  "  There  were  no 
commissioners  from  the  shires  of  Angus  [Forfar],  Mearns  [Kincardine], 
Aberdeen,  or  any  of  the  more  northern  parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  even 
several  places  on  the  south  side  of  the  Tay  had  none  ;  only  here  and 
there,  in  a  corner,  where  the  Presbyterians  had  seated  themselves,  and 
assumed  the  name  of  a  Presbytery,  were  one  or  two  chosen  and  com- 
missioned to  represent  them  in  the  Assembly.  Xone  of  the  Universi- 
ties or  Colleges  had  any  representatives  save  that  of  Edinburgh,  so  that 
this  was  no  more  a  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  than 
that  of  Trent  can  be  called  a  General  Council  of  the  Catholic  Church  ; 
nor  did  any  other  spirit  rule  in  the  one  than  what  prevailed  in  the  other 
— a  spirit  of  faction,  prejudice,  and  interest,  though  there  were  prayers 
enough  put  up  for  another  spirit,  if  they  had  been  disposed  for  it." 

King  William,  in  his  letter  to  this  Assembly,  informed  them  that 
been  informed  that  differences  a-  to  the  government  of  this 

Church  have  caused  greatest  confusions  in  the  nation,  we  did  willingly 

acur  with  <"ir  Parliament  in  enacting  such  a  frame  of  it  a-  was  judj 

\  •     ■tti.   <;  him!  A    tetnbly,  folio,  vol.  i.  p.  21« 


152  HISTORY  OF  THE 

to  be  most  agreeable  to  the  inclinations  of  our  good  subjects  ;  to  which, 
as  we  had  a  particular  regard  in  countenancing  this  Assembly  with  our 
authority  and  a  representative  of  our  royal  person,  so  we  expect  that 
your  management  shall  be  such  as  we  shall  have  no  reason  to  repent  of 
what  we  have  done.  A  calm  and  peaceable  procedure  will  be  no  less 
pleasing  to  us  than  it  becometh  you.  We  never  could  be  of  the  mind 
that  violence  was  suited  to  the  advancing  of  true  religion,  nor  do  we 
iaflnd  that  our  authority  shall  ever  be  a  tool  to  the  irregular  passions 
of  afiy  party.  Moderation  is  what  religion  enjoins;  neighbouring 
churches  expect  from  you,  and  we  recommend  to  you."*  This  letter, 
abounding  as  it  does  with  significant  advices  and  admonitions,  gave 
considerable  offence,  but  the  answer  to  it  was  on  the  whole  respectful : 

"  After  so  many  and  so  great  favours  received  from  God  and  your 

Majesty,  we  hope  we  may  with  confidence  assure  you  that  our  manage- 
ment shall  be  such  as  your  Majesty  hath  so  just  reason  to  expect,  and 
shall  never  give  you  cause  to  repent  of  what  you  have  done  for  us.  The 
God  of  love,  the  Prince  of  peace,  with  all  the  providences  that  have 
sone  over  us,  and  circumstances  that  we  are  under,  as  well  as  your 
Majesty's  most  obliging  pleasure,  require  of  us  a  calm  and  peaceable 
procedure  ;  and  if,  after  the  violence  for  conscience  sake  that  we  have 
suffered  and  so  much  detested,  and  those  grievous  abuses  of  authority 
in  the  late  reigns,  whereby  through  some  men's  irregular  passions  we 
have  so  sadly  smarted,  we  ourselves  should  lapse  into  the  same  errors, 
we  should  certainly  prove  the  most  unjust  towards  God,  foolish  towards 
ourselves,  and  ungrate  towards  your  Majesty,  of  all  men  on  earth." 

To  such  sentiments  no  objections  could  possibly  be  offered  ;  and  the 
General  Assembly,  now  that  Presbyterianism  was  legally  established, 
were  naturally  right  in  adopting  every  measure  for  their  own  security. 
But  the  spirit  and  principles  which  pervaded  them  on  this  occasion  were 
very  different  from  their  declaration  to  the  King.  Mr  Gabriel  Cun- 
ninghame,  in  one  of  his  extemporaneous  prayers  at  the  opening  of  the 
meeting,  began  with  an  acknowledgment  of  our  Saviour  as  Supreme 
Head  and  Governor  of  the  Church,  and  added—"  Thou  knowest,  0 
Lord,  that  when  we  own  any  other  it  is  only  for  decency's  sake."  At 
pne  of  their  devotional  exercises  a  preacher,  after  indulging  in  some 

*  Letter  apud  Acts  of  General  Assembly,  folio,  vol.  i.  p.  4. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  153 

petitions  for  the  spirit  of  moderation  and  brotherly  kindness,  thus  con- 
cluded— "  But,  0  Lord,  to  be  free,  it  would  be  better  to  make  a  clean 
house,"  viz.  to  turn  out  all  the  Episcopal  clergy  from  the  parishes.  The 
case  of  one  Mr  Gabriel  Semple  was  discussed  at  length.  He  had  received 
a  "  call "  from  the  parishes  of  Jedburgh  in  Roxburghshire,  and  Kilpa- 
trick  on  the  Clyde  in  Dunbartonshire,  and  the  people  of  each  petitioned 
the  Assembly  to  station  Mr  Semple  among  them,  on  account  of  "  spiri- 
tual sibness  and  pastoral  relation  which  they  had  to  him."  He  had  ex- 
ercised his  vocation  as  a  preacher  in  the  county  of  Northumberland, 
and  his  followers  there  sent  an  address  to  the  Assembly  requesting  that 
"  Mr  Gabriel  might  not  be  taken  from  them,  he  having  taken  compas- 
sion on  them  while  they  lay  weltering  in  their  blood,  and  no  eye  to  pity 
them  ;  and  showing  that  England  was  overgrown  with  briers  and  thorns, 
which  would  overrun  Scotland  also  if  Mr  Gabriel  did  not  weed  them 
out."  Mr  Gilbert  Rule  supported  this  address,  and  maintained  that 
"  it  was  charity  to  plant  the  gospel  in  England!"  He  alleged  that  be- 
tween Berwick  and  Newcastle  there  was  less  practice  of  piety  than 
amoug  Papists  or  heathens,  and  therefore  it  was  fit  to  send  ministers 
among  them.  Mr  James  Kirkton  mentioned  a  rumour  that  Mr  Gabriel 
Semple  "  durst  not  return  to  England,  there  being  an  order  from  seve- 
ral Justices  to  apprehend  him."  Mr  Gabriel  confessed  this  to  be  true, 
and  he  was  located  at  Jedburgh  at  his  own  desire,  declining  Kilpatrick 
because  there  was  no  manse  for  him,  and  he  could  not  maintain  a  horse 
in  that  parish. 

A  well  known  Mr  Veitch  was  objected  to  because  he  had  a  "popular 
call"  to  the  parish  of  Peebles.  He  replied — "  This  ought  not  to  mili- 
tate against  me,  for  if  by  such  a  call  be  meant  an  unanimous  call  of  all 
or  the  greatest  part  of  the  parishioners,  it  can  be  expected  in  very  few 
places  to  a  Presbyterian  minister,  and  never  at  all  to  be  hoped  for  in 
the  parish  of  Peebles."  The  Lord  High  Commissioner  requested  them 
to  w  deal  tenderly"  with  a  certain  Episcopal  clergyman,  to  which  the 
Moderator,  or  chairman,  replied — "  Your  Grace  will  find  thai  we  shall  use 
great  tenderness  towards  the  young  man,  and  we  shall  be  very  discreet, 
for  we  shall  only  take  his  kirk  from  him."  The  inhabitants  of  Dun- 
dee had  evinced  the  utmost  reluctance  to  the  settlement  of  Presbi  terian 

* 

ism  in  their  town,  and  when  their  refractory  conduct  was  brought  before 
the  Assembly,  the   Moderator  declared  that  "  they  could  and  would 


1  54  HISTORY  OF  THE 

plant  ministers  and  ciders  therein  whether  the  Town  Council  would  or 
not." 

An  act  was  passed  prohibiting  the  administration  of  baptism  in  pri  • 
vate,  and  of  the  eucharist  to  the  sick,  the  reason  assigned  being  "  the 
superstitious  notion  nourished  that  they  are  necessary  to  salvation,  not 
only  as  commanded  duties,  but  as  means  without  which  salvation  can- 
not be  attained."*  Mr  Gilbert  Rule,  in  support  of  the  act,  which  was 
evidently  levelled  at  the  Episcopal  clergy,  contended  that  baptism  should 
be  administered  only  in  public  and  after  sermon,  designating  the  private 
administration  of  baptism  "  not  only  as  superstitious,"  but  as  "  sorcery 
and  witchcraft/'  and  as  "contrary  to  Scripture  and  antiquity."  Mr 
James  Kirkton  replied  with  some  warmth,  that  Mr  Rule's  opinions 
were  "  disputable/'  and  that  he  could  "  buckle  him  or  any  man  upon 
that  point,  though  he  would  not  debate  it  now."  He  added,  that  "  by 
their  rigorous  imposition  of  things  indifferent,  he  had  lost  five  men  of 
considerable  note  the  last  week  ;"  and  "  though  there  were  a  thousand 
acts  against  baptism  in  houses,  he  would  rather  baptize  in  private  than 
suffer  children  to  be  taken  to  the  curates."  Mr  Hugh  Kennedy,  the 
Moderator,  expressed  himself  on  this  subject  in  the  following  eccentric 
manner: — "  There  was  a  distinction  both  of  times  and  places,  for  in 
times  of  persecution  I  think  an  honest  minister  riding  on  the  road  may 
go  into  a  man's  house,  baptize  a  bairn,  and  come  out,  and  take  his  horse 
again !" 

A  Fast  Day  was  ordered  to  be  observed  on  the  second  Thursday  of 
January  1690-1,  and  when  the  report  stating  the  object  was  read,  the 
Moderator  exclaimed—"  Brethren,  this  is  a  savoury  paper  ;  indeed,  it  is 
a  most  savoury  paper,  and  worthy  to  be  heard  over  again."  The  only 
direct  reference  to  the  Episcopal  Church  in  this  act  is  expressed  in  few 
words—"  It  is  undeniable  that  there  hath  been  under  the  late  Prelacy 
a  great  decay  of  piety,  so  that  it  was  enough  to  make  a  man  be  nick- 
named a  fanatic  if  he  did  not  run  to  the  same  excess  of  riot  with  others." 
A  long  detail  of  enormities  is  given,  and  if  the  Scottish  people  were  really 
in  the  religious  and  moral  condition  set  forth  in  this  act  of  the  General  As- 
sembly, they  must  have  been  the  most  wicked  and  depraved  in  Europe. 
There  is  little  doubt  that  this  Fast  was  partly  intended  to  annoy  the  Episco- 

*    Acts  of  General  Assembly,  vol.  i.  p.  12. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  155 

pal  clergy.  None,  as  our  contemporary  writer  observes,  could  sanction 
or  observe  it,  unless  "  they  could  be  persuaded  that  Episcopacy  is  not 
only  unlawful,  but  the  cause  and  the  occasion  of  much  wickedness  and 
impiety,  and  that  the  setting  it  up  is  to  apostatize  from  God,  and  to 
make  defection  from  the  truth.  None  could  observe  this  Fast  for  the 
reasons  enjoined,  but  at  the  same  time  they  must  condemn  the  Church 
of  England  and  other  Churches,  nay,  the  Catholic  Church  of  Christ 
from  the  Apostles'  time  down  to  Calvin."  He  adds  in  the  language  of 
indignation  at  the  whole  proceedings — "  The  Assembly  understood 
well  enough  how  contrary  the  design  of  reasons  of  this  Fast  were  to  the 
sentiments  of  those  who  were  commanded  to  observe  it,  and  that  they 
could  not  keep  it  without  being  guilty  of  the  greatest  hypocrisy  and 
mocking  of  God  ;  and,  therefore,  for  them,  for  their  own  particular  ends, 
to  require  men  thus  to  mock  God  and  play  the  hypocrite,  was  a  most 
horrid  and  unjustifiable  piece  of  villany.  This  shows  that  they  fast  for 
strife  and  envy,  and  not  to  please  God,  but  to  ensnare  men — not  to  avert 
the  divine  judgments,  but  that  they  may  have  occasion  of  executing 
their  wrath  and  malice  under  the  colour  and  shadow  of  zeal  against 
sin." 

Much  might  be  said  respecting  this  Fast  enjoined  by  this  General 
Assembly  of  1690.  Even  Archbishop  Leighton  has  recorded  his  opinion 
of  the  Presbyterians  of  his  own  time,  describing  them  as  persons  who 
"  made  themselves  the  standards  of  opinions  and  practices,  and  never 
looked  cither  abroad  into  the  world  to  see  what  others  were  doing,  nor 
vet  bark  into  the  former  times,  to  observe  what  might  be  warranted  or 
recommended  by  antiquity."  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  if  men  of 
more  decided  principles  than  Archbishop  Leighton  are  found  expressing 
themselves  in  a  peculiarly  indignant  strain.  Whatever  the  clergy  of 
Scotland  suffered  at  and  after  the  Revolution  was  chiefly  on  account  of 
their  adherence  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  whereas  in  the  previous  reigns 
Presbyterian  was  prosecuted  simply  because  he  was  a  Presbyterian. 
This  is  most  satisfactorily  proved  by  sir  George  Mackenzie,  who,  as 
Lord  Advocate  in  the  reign  of  ( lharlea  II. ,  and  consequently  the  oonduc 
tor  of  all  the  prosecutions  in  Scotland.*  A  contemporary  writer  of  that 
time  observer — "There  never  was  any  severity  showed  towards  them 

•  Mackenzie'    Defence  ofth<    Reign  of  Charles  IL   !t". 


150  HISTORY  OF  THE 

[the  Presbyterians]  till  they  were  found  plotting,  and  then  indeed  the 
security  of  the  Government  did  oblige  our  rulers  to  have  a  strict  eye  over 
them,  and  to  curb  them  by  all  means.  And  what  government  would  not 
be  severe  to  men  of  their  principles,  who  held  it  lawful  to  dethrone  and 
kill  kings,  and  to  murder  those  employed  by  them,  if  they  do  not  act 
agreeably  to  their  minds,  and  who  put  these  principles  in  practice  as 
often  as  they  had  occasion? " 

The  instances  of  insult  practised  by  the  Presbyterian  ministers  of 
that  period  to  the  supporters  of  the  fallen  Church  are  numerous.  It  was 
commonly  declared  in  their  sermons  that  during  the  time  of  Episcopacy 
the  people  had  been  "  without  a  ministry  and  without  sacraments." 
We  are  told  that  "  one  Mr  Cassine  in  Fife,  when  he  was  admitting 
elders  in  the  kirk  of  Flisk,  caused  them  before  the  congregation  to  re- 
nounce their  baptism,  and  all  the  sacraments  and  ordinances  which  they 
had  received  from  curates,  as  he  called  Episcopal  ministers  by  way  of 
contempt.  This  is  so  true  that  the  heritors  and  parishioners  of  Abdie 
did  upon  this  very  head  protest  against  Mr  Cassine  coming  among  them, 
but  notwithstanding  the  Presbytery  of  Cupar  admitted  him." 

Numerous  instances  of  a  similar  description  might  be  quoted,  and  it 
was  probably  a  representation  of  this  conduct  to  the  Government  which 
induced  King  William,  in  the  month  of  June  1691,  to  transmit  a  letter 
to  his  "  right  reverend  and  well  beloved  ministers  and  elders,  commis- 
sioners to  the  General  Assembly,"  wherein  his  Majesty  signified  his 
wish  that  "  neither  they  nor  any  church-meeting  do  meddle  in  any  pro- 
cess or  business  that  may  concern  the  purging  out  of  the  Episcopal  mi- 
nisters." It  is  unnecessary  to  narrate  the  proceedings  which  followed 
in  the  Establishment,  as  it  is  with  the  affairs  of  the  ejected  Episcopal 
Church  that  we  are  chiefly  concerned. 

While  the  Presbyterians  were  exerting  every  effort  to  strengthen  their 
Establishment,  a  work  was  published  which  excited  their  consternation 
and  dismay.  This  was  the  celebrated  volume  entitled,  "  The  Scotch 
Presbyterian  Eloquence,  or  the  Foolishness  of  their  Teaching  discovered, 
from  their  Books,  Sermons,  and  Prayers,"  and  was  ironically  dedicated 
to  the  peculiarly  zealous  Presbyterian  nobleman  the  Earl  of  Crawfurd, 
by  Jacob  Curate.  The  mottos  on  the  title-page  are  significant  of  its 
contents.  The  one  is  from  Baxter's  Cure  of  Church  Divisions,  and  is  to 
this  effect — "  It  grieve th  my  soul  to  think  what  pitiful,  raw,  and  igno- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  157 

rant  preaching  it  crowded  most  after,  merely  for  the  loudness  of  the 
preacher's  voice,  how  often  I  have  known  the  ablest  preacher  under- 
valued, and  an  ignorant  man  by  crowds  applauded,  when  I,  who  have 
been  acquainted  with  the  preacher,  ab  incunabilis,  have  known  him  to 
be  unable  to  answer  questions  in  the  common  Catechism."  The  other 
is  from  that  eminent  "  Flower  of  the  Kirk,"  as  he  was  designated,  Mr 
Samuel  Rutherford,  whose  writings  are  characterized  by  Swift  as  a 
compound  of  blasphemy,  obscenity,  and  nonsense.  It  is  found  in  an 
epistle  addressed  to  his  parishioners,  and  his  advice  respecting  the  Epis- 
copal clergy  is  turned  against  himself  and  his  party — "  Follow  not  the 
pastors  of  this  land,  for  the  sun  is  gone  down  upon  them  ;  as  the  Lord 
liveth,  they  lead  you  from  Christ,  and  the  good  old  way." — "  This  re- 
markable work  is  divided  into  four  parts."  I.  The  True  Character  of 
the  Presbyterian  Pastors  and  People  of  Scotland.  II.  Containing 
some  Expressions  out  of  their  printed  Books.  III.  Containing  Notes 
of  the  Presbyterian  Sermons  taken  in  writing  from  their  mouths.  IV. 
Containing  some  few  Expressions  of  the  Presbyterian  Prayers. 

The  following  account  of  the  origin  of  this  celebrated  work  is  tran- 
scribed from  a  biographical  memoir  of  George  Ridpath  already  men- 
tioned, prefixed  to  his  "  Correspondence  with  the  Rev.  Robert  Wodrow,' 
written  by  James  Maidment,  Esq.  Advocate,  and  printed  in  the  First 
Volume  of  the  Abbotsford  Miscellany.  "  In  the  year  1692  a  work  ap- 
peared which  naturally  created  a  great  sensation,  especially  in  Scotland. 
After  the  Revolution  the  Presbyterians  obtained  the  upper  hand,  and, 
as  usually  happens,  the  successful  party  was  not  inclined  to  be  tolerant 
to  its  opponents  ;  and,  in  some  instances,  it  can  hardly  be  disguised  that 
several  of  those  who  adhered  to  Episcopacy  were  somewhat  rigorously 
dealt  with.  Among  other  individuals  who  had  smarted  for  their  religi- 
ous opinions  were  Dr  Monro,  Principal  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh, 
Dr  John  Strachan,  Professor  of  Divinity,  and  Mr  Massie,*  regent  in 
the  College,  all  of  whom  had  been  deprived  of  their  respective  situations. 
Incensed  by  the  treatment  they  had  received,  it  was  rumoured  that,  in 
conjunction  with  the  Reverend  Mr  Canaries,  and,  as  some  assert,  Mr 
Kobert  Calder,  or  Cadder,  who  was  celebrated  for  his  satirical  powers, 

Mr  Afauie,  DOWl  rer,  WMB  not  ejected,  ho  having  complied  with  the  new  Govern- 
ment, as  previously  itated  "ti  the  authority  of  Bower  in  liis  "  History  <.f  the  Univer- 
sity of  Edinburgh." 


158  HISTORY  OF  THE 

they  resolved  to  act  upon  the  offensive,  by  producing  a  work  the  object 
of  which  was  to  hold  up  the  Presbyterian  divines  to  the  ridicule  of  the 
world.  Whether  there  was  any  real  foundation  for  this  alleged  combi- 
nation cannot  be  satisfactorily  ascertained,  but  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that 
Ridpath  and  the  other  Presbyterian  writers  firmly  believed  that  at  least 
some  of  the  before  named  persons  were  the  veritable  authors  of '  The 
Scots  Presbyterian  Eloquence,  or  the  Foolishness  of  their  Teaching 
discovered,  from  their  Books,  Sermons,  and  Prayers,  and  some  Remarks 
on  Mr  Rule's  late  Vindication  of  the  Kirk  Session.  Printed  for  Randal 
Taylor,  near  Stationers'  Hall,  1692.' 

"This  celebrated  work,  of  which  a  second  edition,  with  additions, 
appeared  the  ensuing  year,  and  has  since  been  frequently  reprinted,  was 
calculated,  if  not  contradicted,  to  inflict  a  serious  injury  on  Presbytery. 
Ridpath  was  thereupon  selected  as  the  party  best  qualified  to  answer  it. 
The  task  thus  devolved  upon  him  was  difficult,  inasmuch  as  many  pas- 
sages of  the  offensive  work  were  merely  extracts  from  the  printed  works 
of  Presbyterian  divines,  the  authorship  of  which  could  not  be  denied. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  greater  portion  of  the  volume  consisted  of 
specimens  of  the  style  of  oratory  of  many  of  the  clergymen  then  living, 
intermixed  with  various  ridiculous  anecdotes  of  their  life  and  conduct. 
Ridpath,  therefore,  thought  it  best,  after  denying  generally  the  state- 
ments founded  on  oral  testimony,  to  resort  to  the  plea  of  recrimination, 
and  he  set  about,  with  great  good  will,  to  rake  up  all  the  scandal  that 
could  be  collected  against  the  unfortunate  Episcopalians,  in  which  at- 
tempt he  was  so  far  successful,  that  if  the  third  part  of  what  he  states  is 
true,  his  opponents  acted  very  rashly  in  provoking  him  to  the  combat. 
In  1693  appeared  his  '  Answer  to  the  Scots  Presbyterian  Eloquence,  in 
Three  Parts.  I.  Being  a  Catalogue  of  the  Cruel  and  Bloody  Laws 
made  by  the  Scots  Prelatists  against  the  Presbyterians,  with  instances 
of  their  numerous  murders  and  other  barbarities,  beyond  the  extent  of 
those  laws  ;  with  Reflections  throughout,  demonstrating  the  lenity  of  their 
Majesties'  Government  against  the  Scots  Prelatists  and  Clergy.  II.  Lay- 
ing open  the  Self-Contradictions,  Impudent  Lies,  Horrible  Blasphemies, 
and  Disloyalty  of  the  obscene  scurrilous  Pamphlet  called  Scots  Presby- 
terian Eloquence.  III.  Being  a  collection  of  their  ridiculous  expres- 
sions in  Sermons,  and  instances  of  the  vitious  Lives  of  their  Bishops 
and  Clergy.     London,  printed  for   Thomas  Anderson,   near  Charing 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  159 

Cross.'  This  was  followed  by  'A  Continuation  of  the  Answer  to  the 
Scots  Presbyterian  Eloquence,  dedicated  to  the  Parliament  of  Scotland  : 
being  a  Vindication  of  the  Acts  of  that  august  Assembly,  from  the 
Clamours  and  Aspersions  of  the  Scots  Prelatical  Clergy,  in  their  Libels 
printed  in  England,  with  a  Confutation  of  Dr  M[onro]'s  Postscript  in 
answer  to  the  former,  proving  that  it's  not  the  Church  of  England's  in- 
terest to  countenance  the  Scots  outed  Clergy.  As  also,  Reflections  on 
Sir  George  Mackenzie's  Defence  of  Charles  the  Second's  Government  in 
Scotland,  &c.     By  William  Laick.     London,  printed  in  the  year  1693.' 

"  If  Ridpath  supposed  that  his  two  pamphlets  would  silence  his  oppo- 
nents he  was  very  much  mistaken,  for  they  lost  no  time  in  producing  a 
rejoinder,  in  the  shape  of  a  tract,  entitled,  '  The  Spirit  of  Calumny 
and  Slander  Examined,  Chastised,  and  Exposed,'  written  with  much 
more  temper  and  calmness  than  was  to  have  been  expected.  Ridpath, 
however,  returned  to  the  charge,  and  gave  to  the  world  his  '  Scots 
Episcopal  Innocence,'  which  is  principally  valuable  as  containing  some 
information  relative  to  the  life  of  the  author." 

To  attempt  anything  like  an  analysis  of  the  "  Scotch  Presbyterian  Elo- 
quence" is  impossible  in  these  limits,  and  the  truth  is,  that  it  must  be 
perused  by  itself  to  be  appreciated.  It  has  been  always  admitted  that 
the  "  Answer"  to  it  by  Ridpath,  or  Will.  Laick,  as  he  calls  him- 
self, is  a  failure.  It  is  ironically  dedicated  to  Archbishop  Paterson  of 
Glasgow,  against  whom  Ridpath  and  others  circulated  a  number  of  ri- 
diculous and  scandalous  stories.  Principal  Monro,  in  his  remarks  on 
Ridpath's  Answer,  which  conclude  his  eloquent  and  admirable  little 
work,  entitled  "  Aii  Apology  for  the  Clergy  of  Scotland,"  thus  speaks^of 
the  attack  on  the  Archbishop  : — "  The  first  that  he  [Ridpath]  endea- 
vours to  abuse  is  Dr  Paterson,  Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  and  that  in  a 
stylo  becoming  the  true  race  of  the  Gnostics,  I  mean  Scotch  Presbyte- 
rians, who  have  no  other  precedents  in  history  than  these  impure  sec- 
taries, whose  lives  were  a  disgrace  to  human  nature  M  well  as  a  reproach 
t<»  religion.  The  world  is  not  so  besotted  as  to  think  that  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Glasgow  needs  particular  answers.  Indeed,  I  must  acknow- 
ledge that  the  author  has  pretty  well  secured  himself  against  such  apo- 
logies. His  accusations  are  so  obscene,  that  no  Christian  musl  name 
them,  and  therefore  he  has  hid  himself  in  a  cloud  of  forgeries  that  none 

Can  repeat    but  a  devil,   and    umir    OOuld    invent    but   the    anther.      The 


160  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Archbishop's  character,  merit,  and  parts,  cannot  but  draw  upon  him  the 
odium  of  the  whole  party,  and  I  wish  with  all  my  heart  that  they  had 
not  tried  his  patience  by  more  terrible  methods  than  those  of  pasquils 
and  calumnies." 

The  opinion  of  the  Scottish  Episcopalians  respecting  the  "  Presbyte- 
rian Eloquence"  is  contained  in  a  curious  pamphlet  published  in  1692, 
entitled  "  A  Letter  to  a  Friend,  giving  an  account  of  all  the  Treatises 
that  have  been  published  with  relation  to  the  Present  Persecution  against 
the  Church  of  Scotland,"  which  was  not  unlikely  written  by  Principal 
Monro.  "  The  occasion  of  publishing  this  tract"  [the  Scotch  Presbyte- 
rian Eloquence],  "  as  I  am  informed,  was  this.  You  may  observe  that  the 
Presbyterians  of  Scotland  in  all  their  vindications  endeavour  to  justify 
their  proceedings  against  the  orthodox  clergy  with  this  topic,  by  pre- 
tending that  a  great  many  of  them  were  turned  out  merely  for  their 
ignorance  and  insufficiency.  This  was  the  great  test  by  which  the  Pres- 
byterian teachers  pretended  to  proceed,  in  judging  and  depriving  such  of 
the  Episcopal  clergy  as  condescended  to  appear  before  their  Assemblies. 
Upon  this  account,  therefore,  it  seems,  the  publisher  of  this  treatise 
thought  it  convenient  to  inform  the  world  a  little  of  the  qualifications 
and  learning  of  our  Presbyterian  doctors,  and,  if  it  were  possible,  to 
make  them  sensible  of  their  own  infirmities,  and  for  the  future  ashamed 
of  their  insolence,  that  they  should  deprive  men  for  ignorance  who  are 
so  many  degrees  above  the  reach  of  their  low  capacities — that  they  who 
in  their  preachings  and  writings  appear  to  be  not  only  void  of  all  manner 
of  learning,  but  likewise  destitute  of  common  sense  and  reason,  should 
be  so  arrogant  as  to  think  themselves  fit  judges  of  any  man's  qualifica- 
tions for  the  office  of  the  holy  ministry.  They  might  nave  acted  perhaps 
more  prudently  if  they  had  set  this  topic  aside,  and  made  choice  of  an- 
other test  for  depriving  the  Episcopal  clergy,  and  that  is,  as  they  are 
pleased  to  call  it,  the  want  of  grace.  Then  in  all  appearance  they  had 
not  given  our  author  this  occasion  of  proclaiming  to  the  world  their 
scandalous  ignorance,  and  they  would  have  acted  more  consonantly  to 
their  own  principles  and  doctrines,  when  they  run  down  all  kind  of  hu- 
man learning  as  a  thing  truly  antichristian." 

After  accusing  the  triumphant  party  as  the  enemies  of  literature,  and 
of  having  compelled  "  some  of  the  most  conspicuous  of  our  lawyers, 
physicians,   and  mathematicians,    to    desert  their   native   country" — a 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  101 

charge  the  justice  of  which  it  is  unnecessary  to  inquire,  the  writer  pro* 
ceeds  to  give  an  account  of  the  Scotch  Presbyterian  Eloquence.     "  This 
discourse,"  he  says,  "  is  a  collection  of  several  remarkable  passages 
taken  out  of  the  writings  and  sermons  of  the  Presbyterian  pastors,  in 
which  their  gross  ignorance  in  matters  of  learning,  and  their  ridiculous 
way  of  worship,  are  sufficiently  described.  The  author  has  collected  a  great 
many  instances  of  the  madness  and  delusions  of  the  Presbyterian  vul- 
gar, how  they  are  passionately  moved  with  a  sermon  of  the  greatest  non- 
sense, if  it  be  pronounced  but  with  a  loud  voice  and  a  whining  tone — 
how  they  contemn  the  Creed,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  Ten  Command- 
ments, as  childish  ordinances,  and  far  below  their  care  or  concern — 
and  how  upon  their  deathbeds  they  take  it  as  a  certain  sign  of  salvation 
that  in  their  lifetime  they  never  heard  a  curate  preach.     In  the  next 
place,  he  describes  the  peevish  and  unconversible  temper  of  their  pas- 
tors, how  they  have  enslaved  themselves  so  wholly  to  the  humours  of 
their  people,  that  to  gratify  them  they  must  divest  themselves  of  common 
civility  as  well  as  of  Christian  charity.    He  shows  that  their  pretences  to 
learning  go  no  farther  than  to  understand  the  doctrines  of  election  and 
reprobation,  and  how  by  their  indiscreet  sermons  upon  these  subjects 
they  often  drive  many  of  the  ignorant  multitude  into  such  a  high  de- 
spair of  God's  mercy,  as  to  make  them  lay  violent  hands  upon  them- 
selves, and  this  they  call  the  saving  of  souls.     They  infuse  into  the 
minds  of  their  hearers  sordid  and  low  notions  of  the  high  and  eternal 
God.     They  represent  Him  as  a  severe  and  unmerciful  Being,  and  have 
not  the  prudence  to  intermix  God's  offers  of  mercy  with  his  threaten- 
ings.     They  not  only  force  their  followers  into  despair,  but  likewise 
sometimes  encourage  them  in  direct  impieties,  by  telling  them  that  if 
they  be  among  the  number  of  the  elect,  they  may  be  guilty  of  the  great- 
est sins  without  hazarding  their  salvation.     They  talk  of  the  mysteries 
of  religion  in  such  homely,  coarse,  and  ridiculous  expressions,  as  are 
very  unsuitable  to  the  gravity  and  solemnity  with  which  these  sacred 
mysteries  ought  to  bo  treated.     All  these  particulars  the  author  of  this 
treatise  proves  against  them  by  such  undeniable  instances,  that  I  be 
lieve  they  will  hardly  be  so  bold  as  to  offer  to  confute  them,  Lest  thereby 
th<\  expose  themselves  to  the  greater  scorn  and  derision." 

Thia  severe  explanation  of  the  "  Scotch  Presbyterian  Eloquence?  is 
followed  by  a  pa        •  tooenriousand  important  to  be  omitted.  "  I  think 


162  HISTOKY  OF  THE 

I  need  not  caution  you  to  read  this  Discourse  I  here  speak  of,  with  a  due 
regard  and  veneration  to  those  sacred  things  you  see  thus  polluted  and 
profaned,  and  not  to  improve  it  to  such  a  bad  use  as  I  too  much  fear 
some  of  our  open  profaners  of  all  religion  will  be  inclined  to  do. — I  must 
therefore  entreat  you  to  improve  the  reading  of  this  treatise  to  the  true 
design  for  which  it  was  published,  viz.  that  all  good  men,  being  rightly 
informed  of  the  present  misery  and  desolation  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land, and  being  sensible  of  the  great  detriment  that  accrues  thereby  to 
religion  in  general,  may  contribute  their  assistance,  by  their  prayers  and 
other  lawful  means,  for  restoring  that  national  Church  to  its  primitive 
and  apostolical  institution. — Is  it  a  matter  of  no  moment  to  see  a  whole 
national  Church,  with  its  apostolical  government,  quite  overturned  and 
destroyed — to  see  many  hundreds  of  the  ministers  of  God's  word,  to- 
gether with  their  families,  exposed  to  the  extreme  necessities  of  poverty 
and  want,  and  by  that  means  to  the  contempt  of  the  laity  ?  Is  it  no- 
thing to  see  religion  in  this  manner  abused  and  polluted  by  sordid  and 
stupid  men,  who  assume  to  themselves  the  name  of  pastors — to  see 
them  profane  the  sacred  mysteries  of  our  holy  religion  by  their  drollery 
and  ridicule  ?  These  are  matters  not  of  mere  jest  and  diversion,  but  of 
great  concern  and  importance." 

Principal  Monro's  observations  on  the  "  Scotch  Presbyterian  Elo- 
quence" are  printed  in  the  postscript  to  his  tract,  entitled  "  An  Apology 
for  the  Clergy  of  Scotland,"  in  which  he  attacks  Ridpath,  the  author  of 
the  "  Answer." — "  I  have  heard,"  says  the  reverend  Principal,  "  that 
the  Scotch  Presbyterian  Eloquence  has  been  much  talked  of,  and,  there- 
fore, I  take  the  liberty  to  acquaint  you  with  the  reasons  that  induce  me 
to  believe  that  there  was  no  injury  done  to  the  Scotch  Presbyterians 
by  the  publication  of  that  book.  First,  Because  the  printed  accounts 
cited  from  their  books  are  equal  to  the  unprinted  relations  of  their  ser- 
mons and  prayers.  Mr  Rutherford's  Letters  alone  have  in  them  many 
coarse  and  abusive  metaphors,  and  applications  which  are  mean  and 
loathsome.  Secondly,  The  most  blasphemous  stories  in  the  book  called 
The  Scotch  Presbyterian  Eloquence  can  be  proved  by  the  best  and  most 
undeniable  evidence,  viz.  that  of  Mr  Urquhart  concerning  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  that  of  Mr  Kirkton  concerning  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  that  he 
believed  Abraham  ran  out  of  the  land  of  Chaldea  for  debt.  Now,  we 
fairly  offer  to  prove  these  three,  the  first  against  Mr  Urquhart,  the  other 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  163 

two  against  Mr  Kirkton.  Thirdly,  Suppose  that  one  had  a  mind  to  make 
stories  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  Scotch  Presbyterians,  yet  their  jargon 
is  so  extravagant,  that  it  is  not  possible  for  any  man  to  speak  their  lan- 
guage unless  he  has  been  educated  therein  ;  and  the  harmony  between 
their  printed  books  and  their  unprinted  sermons  is  so  exact,  that  none 
can  doubt  of  the  last  who  read  the  first." 

Principal  Monro  gives  other  reasons  in  his  reply  to  Ridpath's  "  An- 
swer," and  then  proceeds  to  defend  those  of  the  Bishops  and  clergy, 
with  whom  he  was  personally  acquainted,  who  had  been  prominently 
aspersed  by  Ridpath.  Dr  James  Canaries,  formerly  incumbent  of 
Selkirk,  who  was  peculiarly  hated  by  the  Presbyterians,  is  made  the 
subject  of  some  ridiculous  anecdotes  in  Ridpath's  "  Answer."  Prin- 
cipal Monro  says — "  The  Doctor  told  me  that  these  were  not  the  first 
essays  of  their  civility  towards  him,  for  he  being  employed  by  some 
of  the  Episcopal  clergy  to  state  their  grievances  at  Court,  the  Presby- 
terians from  that  very  moment  fixed  their  eyes  upon  him,  and  prose- 
cuted him  with  all  the  calumnies  that  their  fury  and  common  practices 
in  such  cases  could  suggest ;  but  still  they  found  the  Doctor  too  hard 
for  them,  and  the  wise  men  among  them  have  frequently  owned  to  him 
that  as  they  hated  such  methods,  they  highly  disapproved  the  particular 
injustice  that  was  done  to  the  Doctor." 

From  these  extracts  it  is  sufficiently  clear,  that,  whoever  was  the 
author  or  compiler  of  the  "  Scotch  Presbyterian  Eloquence,"  the  lead- 
ing Episcopal  clergy  of  Scotland  at  that  time  maintained  the  authenti- 
city of  the  facts  recorded  in  that  extraordinary  work,  and  that,  though 
themselves  personally  attacked  in  retaliation,  Ridpath's  "  Answer" 
gave  them  very  little  concern.  Various  pamphlets  were  published  for 
a  series  of  years  by  both  parties  against  eacli  other,  the  most  zealous 
on  the  Presbyterian  side  being  Mr  Gilbert  Rule,  who  met  with  an  able 
opponent  in  Dr  Monro.  Some  of  theso  are  already  quoted,  and  as  they 
aro  all  of  a  controversial  nature,  intermingled  with  various  personal 
and  local  accusations,  their  contents  may  be  readily  inferred.  It  must 
not,  however,  be  forgotten  that  the  Presbyterians  evidently  indicated 
that  they  were  the  defeated  party,  by  resorting  to  their  old  MOW 
tions  against  their  opponents  of  Popery  and  Atheism.  Dr  Pi  ten  i  rue, 
already  mentioned  as  one  of  the  most  celebrated  physicians  of  Scot- 


164  HISTORY  OF  THE 

land,  was  branded  with  the  latter  epithet,  because  he  wrote  a  satirical 
poem  on  the  General  Assembly,  which  annoyed  and  incensed  the 
members  in  no  ordinary  manner.  It  has  even  been  stated  in  various 
recent  Presbyterian  publications  that  Dr  Pitcairne  entertained  infidel 
principles,  while  it  is  well  known,  for  the  evidence  is  undeniable,  that 
this  distinguished  man,  like  thousands  of  others  in  Scotland,  was  in  re- 
ligion a  decided  and  determined  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and 
in  politics  a  Jacobite,  or  adherent  of  the  exiled  sovereign. 

A  Presbyterian  writer*  favours  us  with  his  version  of  some  of  the  ec- 
clesiastical proceedings  of  those  times.  After  noticing  that  those  incum- 
bents, who,  having  qualified  to  the  Government,  nevertheless  joined  the 
Jacobite  laity  in  their  endeavours  to  restore  "  their  King  and  Episco- 
pacy," he  says — "  In  order  to  this  last,  it  was  contrived  that  a  body  of 
Episcopal  ministers,  more  numerous  than  the  Presbyterians,  should  ap- 
ply to  the  next  General  Assembly  to  be  received  into  a  coalition,  upon 
such  terms  as  they  thought  could  not  be  refused.  If  received,  they  hoped 
soon  to  overturn  Presbytery :  if  rejected,  they  would  represent  the 
Presbyterians  to  the  King  and  Parliament  as  of  an  unpeaceable,  sedi- 
tious, and  persecuting  spirit,  and  hoped  in  this  way  to  succeed  ;  and  if 
Prelacy  was  once  restored,  they  would  work  up  the  nation  to  a  new  re- 
volution. This  scheme  seems  to  have  been  formed  by  the  Viscount  of 
Tarbet,  a  nobleman  of  some  learning,  but  of  less  integrity,  who  insinu- 
ated himself  into  King  William's  favour,  and  yet  lived  and  died  a  keen 
Jacobite.  The  Scottish  Bishops  communicated  a  part  of  this  design  to 
the  English  Bishops.  They,  together  with  Lord  Tarbet,  prevailed  with 
the  King,  who  was  a  stranger,  to  defer  calling  an  Assembly  in  1691,  for 
the  sake  of  peace,  as  they  pretended,  but  in  fact  that  their  scheme  might 
be  ripened.  All  things  being  now  ready,  an  Assembly  was  called  to 
meet  in  January  1692,  and  the  King  in  his  letter  recommended  to  re- 
ceive into  a  share  of  the  government  all  who  should  desire  to  be  thus 
comprehended.  Then  Dr  Canaries,  at  the  head  of  one  hundred  and 
eighty  Episcopal  ministers,  and  in  the  name  of  many  more,  appeared 
and  desired  to  be  received,  and  they  would  subscribe  the  following  for- 
mula — <  I,  A.  B.,  do  sincerely  promise  and  declare,  that  I  will  sub- 
mit to  the  Presbyterian  government  of  the  Church,  and  that  I  will 

*  Mr  Lachlan  Shaw,  in  his  History  of  the  Province  of  Moray. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  165 

subscribe  the  Confession  of  Faith,  and  the  Larger  and  Shorter  Cate- 
chisms, ratified  by  Act  of  Parliament  in  the  year  1690,  as  containing 
the  doctrine  of  the  Protestant  religion  professed  in  this  kingdom.'" 

We  are  farther  told  by  the  same  authority,  that  "  the  Assembly  knew 
Dr  Canaries'  character  ;  they  saw  the  design  of  these  men  was  no  more 
than  what  a  Jesuit  or  a  Mahometan  might  offer.  These  men  did  not 
promise  to  believe  the  doctrine,  and  not  to  overturn  the  government  of 
the  Church.  In  short,  such  equivocation  was  condemned,  and  their  of- 
fer rejected.  Upon  this  Dr  Canaries  appealed  to  the  King  for  redress, 
and  the  Earl  of  Lothian,  Commissioner,  dissolved  the  meeting  sine  die  ; 
but  the  Assembly  asserted  unanimously  the  right  of  the  Church,  and 
appointed  the  time  of  their  next  meeting.  The  Jacobites  now  hoped  to 
triumph,  but  were  disappointed.  Their  designs  were  seen  into,  the 
King  was  undeceived,  and  the  Parliament  having  met  in  April  1693 
ordained,  '  That  no  one  be  admitted  or  continued  a  minister  or  preacher, 
till  he  first  subscribe  the  allegiance  and  assurance  ;  also  subscribe 
the  Confession  of  Faith,  and  own  the  doctrine  therein  contained  to  be 
the  true  doctrine,  to  which  he  will  constantly  adhere  ;  and  likewise  our 
Presbyterian  church  government,  submit  thereto,  and  never  endeavour, 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  the  prejudice  or  subversion  thereof,  and 
observe  the  worship  as  at  present  performed  ;  and  that  they  apply,  in 
an  orderly  way,  each  man  for  himself  to  be  admitted.'  The  Parliament 
likewise  addressed  his  Majesty  to  call  an  Assembly,  which  he  did,  and 
they  met  in  March  1 694,  and  drew  up  a  formula,  agreeable  to  the  act 
of  Parliament,  offering  to  receive  all  who  would  subscribe  it.  Few  com- 
plied with  the  Act  of  Parliament.  Many  qualified  to  the  civil  Govern- 
ment, and  kept  their  churches  without  molestation,  but  the  zealous 
Jacobites  would  not  conform  to  Church  and  State." 

Without  entering  into  the  details  of  the  statements  here  given,  which 
are  partly  correct  and  partly  erroneous,  it  is  obvious  that  the  Presby- 
terians, as  established  by  law,  were  entitled  to  take  every  step  consist- 
ent with  their  own  security.  Whatever  were  the  motives,  religious  or 
political,  of  the  numerous  body  of  Episcopal  clergymen,  headed  by  Dr 
Canaries,  who  made  this  application,  and  who  had  been  publicly  recog- 
nized bj  the  King,  those  ascribed  to  them  by  the  writer  now  quoted  are 
not  set  forth  in  a  pamphlet  explanatory  of  the  whole  matter  which  the 
clergy  considered  hot- ary  to  be  published  in  L704.      This  pamphlet  is 


166  HISTORY  OF  THE 

entitled,  a  "Vindication  of  the  Address  made  by  the  Episcopal  Clergy 
to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterians,  anno  1692,  from  the  sini- 
ster and  false  constructions  put  upon  it  by  the  enemies  of  that  Order, 
but  more  especially  of  that  particular  Address  given  in  by  Mr  Robert 
Irving,  minister  of  Towie,  and  Mr  John  Forbes,  minister  of  Kincardine, 
in  name  of,  and  by  commission  from,  their  brethren  the  ministers  of  the 
Synod  of  Aberdeen,  they  being  expressly  reflected  upon,  and  named  by 
the  author  of  the  Remarks  upon  the  Case  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy."  It 
appears  from  this  production  that  the  clergy  were  chiefly  accused  of 
being  Arminians,  which  is  repelled  by  the  author,  who  asserts  that 
"  howbeit  the  Episcopal  clergy  are  generally  clamoured  upon  as  Ar- 
minians, yet  the  first  of  that  sect  and  his  proselytes  were  all  Presby- 
terians, for  James  Hereman,  minister  in  Amsterdam,  and  afterwards 
Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  University  of  Ley  den,  under  the  name  of 
Jacobus  Arminius,  by  which  he  is  best  known,  was  the  first  that  brought 
in  those  opinions,  which  now  bear  so  ill,  into  the  Reformed  Church,  so 
that  they  owe  their  rise  not  to  Prelacy  but  to  Presbytery.  He  was  the 
first  who  did  disseminate  and  propagate  them  among  Protestants,  and, 
consequently,  Presbytery  and  not  Prelacy  must  bear  the  first  blame." 
Some  of  these  statements  about  Arminius  and  his  errors,  as  they 
were  called  by  the  Presbyterians,  might  be  questioned,  but  they  are  of- 
fered in  this  pamphlet  rather  as  a  reply  to  a  direct  charge  than  in  a  con- 
troversial manner.  It  is  unnecessary,  however,  to  enter  into  all  the 
minute  details  of  this  particular  transaction,  which  has  been  long  for- 
gotten. It  was  unsuccessful,  and  such  a  coalition  is  not  likely  to  be  ever 
attempted  between  the  Scottish  Episcopal  clergy  and  the  Presbyterian 
ministers,  unless  the  latter  admit  and  recognize  the  doctrine  of  the 
Apostolical  Succession,  and  the  divine  institution  of  Bishops,  Priests, 
and  Deacons. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  167 


CHAPTER  X. 

POLITICAL  CHARACTER  OF  THE  SCOTTISH  EPISCOPALIANS  BY  THEIR  OPPONENTS. 
RELIGIOUS  STATE  OF  PARTIES  DURING  THE  REIGN  OF  WILLIAM  III. 


Little  is  recorded  of  the  measures  adopted  by  the  Bishops  and  clergy  at 
this  period  to  perpetuate  the  Church.    The  ejected  pastors  officiated  in  the 
cities,  towns,  and  villages,  to  congregations  large  or  small,  according  to 
the  circumstances  and  religious  principles  of  the  inhabitants,  and  the  ac- 
commodation they  were  able  to  obtain.    In  the  year  1696  most  of  the  Bi- 
shops were  alive,  and  continued  to  receive,  as  their  successors  still  receive, 
that  canonical  obedience  to  which  those  were  entitled  who  derived  their 
authority,  through  the  Church  of  England,  from  the  Divine  Head  of 
the  Catholic  Church.     Kings  and  Parliaments  could  deprive  them  of 
their  temporalities,  and  confer  these  on  other  parties,  but  no  executive 
government  could  deprive  the  clergy  of  the  ejected  Church  of  that 
spiritual  authority  with  which  they  had  been  invested,  or  render  their 
ministrations  void  and  nugatory.     It  had  been  repeatedly  represented 
not  only  by  the  Presbyterian  ministers,  but  by  their  leaders  in  the  Scot- 
tish Parliament  and  elsewhere,  that  Prelacy,  as  they  chose  to  desig- 
nate the  Episcopal  Church,  was  not  only  identified  with  arbitrary  power, 
but  that  it  was  near  akin  to  Popery,  as  if  tho  fundamentals  of  religion 
are  to  bo  rejected  simply  because  the  Romanists  maintain  them,  though 
adulterated  and  obscured  by  their  errors  and  fanciful  traditions. 

Among  these  writers  it  is  curious  to  find  the  respectable  namo  of 
Duncan  Forbes  of  Cullodcii,  the  father  of  tho  distinguished  Lord  Presi- 
dent of  the  Court  of  Session  in  Scotland,  [n  the  "  Memoir  of  a  Plan 
for  preserving  the  Peace  of  the  Highlands,  written  a  short  time  after  the 


168  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Revolution,"  by  Mr  Forbes,  and  published  by  his  family,*  the  follow- 
ing passages  occur : — 

"  It  is  to  be  minded  that  there  is  a  party  in  Scotland  whose  affections 
can  never  be  gained  to  the  King  [William  III.],  and  those  are  they  who 
call  themselves  Episcopal,  but  really  are  indifferent  of  that  and  all  other 
matters  of  that  nature,  and  are  addicted  to  nothing  but  King  James, 
under  whose  protection  they  formerly  oppressed  others,  and,  in  spite  of 
all  the  kindness  and  forbearance  can  be  showed  them,  will  only  comply 
to  gain  him  back  if  they  can.  This  appears  as  clear  as  the  sun,  from 
three  or  four  following  evidences." 

One  of  these  "  three  or  four  evidences"  adduced  by  Mr  Forbes  is — 
"  From  the  testimony  of  the  best  officers  in  the  army,  who  declare  that 
after  all  their  converse  and  endeavours  with  these  men,  they  find  not 
one  in  Scotland  who  favours  Episcopacy  but  to  the  best  of  their  conjec- 
tures he  hates  the  King  and  the  Government,  and  would  have  back  King 
James  ;  nor  do  they  find  one  Presbyterian,  let  him  have  never  so  many 
faults,  but  would  venture  all  for  His  Majesty,  both  against  King  James 
and  all  his  other  enemies." 

Mr  Forbes  then  deduces  certain  " positions"  from  his  "  evidences," 
which  he  says  are  "  undeniably  true,"  among  which  are  specified : — "  1. 
That  the  things  now  done  [the  establishment  of  Presbyterianism]  are  of 
infinite  value  to  the  nation,  and  without  which  the  people  could  never  be 
easy,  and  therefore  behoved  to  be  done.  2.  That  the  nation,  having  re- 
ceived so  great  obligations  from  the  King,  will  never  be  ungrateful  to 
him,  but  will  make  returns  to  him  of  all  they  are  worth,  ask  it  when  he 
will.  3.  That  no  Jacobite,  or  hardly  any  in  Scotland  who  calls  himself 
Episcopal,  can  be  trusted  by  his  Majesty"  This  gentleman  then  says — 
"  I  know  that  evil  designing  men  suggest  two  inconveniences  in  what  is 
done,  and  they  are  both  groundless.  The  first  is,  that  the  Presbyterian 
churchmen  will  employ  the  freedom  the  King  and  Parliament  have  given 
them  too  rigorously  against  those  of  the  Episcopal  persuasion,  which  may 
irritate  the  Church  of  England.     Verily,  such  as  suggest  this  know  very 

*  Culloden  Papers,  comprising  an  extensive  and  interesting  correspondence  from 
the  year  1625  to  1748,  4to,  London,  1815,  p.  14,  15,  &c.  It  is  stated—"  The  ori- 
ginal is  in  the  handwriting  of  Duncan  Forbes  of  Culloden,  the  President's  father, 
and  every  part  of  his  plan  seems  to  have  been  closely  followed,  in  every  point  of  any 
consequence." 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCII.  169 

little  of  the  Presbyterian  ministers'  concern  for  the  King's  satisfaction, 
and  prosperity  of  his  affairs." 

In  the  ''Addenda"  to  the  "  Culloden  Papers,"  purporting  to  be  a 
"  State  of  Things  in  1696,"  there  is  a  curious  document,  of  which  this 
explanation  is  given — "  This  Statement  is  by  Mr  Duncan  Forbes  of 
Culloden,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Scottish  Parliament  at  the  period 
of  which  he  treats,  and  was  alleged  to  have  contributed  to  the  Protestant 
succession,  and  to  have  supported  it  as  ably  as  any  person  of  his  time." 
The  whole  argument  in  this  document  is  an  attempt  to  prove  that  Scot- 
tish Episcopacy  was  altogether  a  political  affair,  and  that  its  supporters 
contended  for  it  solely  on  political  principles.  Never  was  there  any 
opinion  given  on  more  fallacious  assumptions  or  views  of  human  action. 
That  the  Episcopalians,  in  common  with  the  Roman  Catholics,  and 
with  many  Presbyterians,  were  favourable  to  the  exiled  sovereign,  and 
inimical  to  the  Revolution,  or  rather  to  the  assumption  of  the  throne  by 
King  William  and  Queen  Mary,  is  admitted  ;  but  they  were  actuated  by 
nobler  motives,  because  they  were  influenced  by  religion.  They  loved 
the  Episcopal  Church — a  Church  which  they  considered  pure,  aposto- 
lical, and  national — a  Church  which  presented  the  scriptural  system  of 
Christianity,  and  was  opposed  to  the  fanaticism  of  the  age.  They  loved 
this  Church  because  her  bishops  were  true  bishops,  and  her  priests  and 
deacons  truly  and  apostolically  ordained — and  they  identified  her  poli  - 
tically  with  the  exiled  sovereign,  solely  on  account  of  the  Royal  House 
of  Stuart  being  linked  or  connected  with  her  as  an  ecclesiastical  esta- 
blishment. It  is  monstrous  to  state  that  the  Scottish  Church  was  merely 
politically  Episcopalian.  The  sacrifice  her  Bishops  and  clergy  made  at 
the  Revolution  is  an  unanswerable  argument  to  the  contrary.  The  wis- 
dom and  prudence  of  their  conduct  at  that  memorable  period  are  fair 
matters  of  opinion,  but,  although  deprived  of  their  temporalities,  and 
supplanted  by  a  different  religious  party,  they  preserved  the  Church  a* 
sho  is  to  this  day,  primitive  and  orthodox  in  her  ritual,  standards 
canons  and  ordinances. 

It  is,  however,  a  remarkable  fact,  that  the  Scottisli  people,  who  are 
proverbially  cautious  and  calculating,  or  supposed  to  be  so,  are  liable  to 
run  in  to  extremes  both  in  politics  and  religion.  No  nation  in  Europe 
abounds  more  with  sectaries,  and  the  snidest  enthusiasts  are  sure  to  gain 

Lhereu         The   Presbyterians  of  the  Revolution  thought  that  theii 


170  HISTORY  OF  THE 

establishment  would  carry  all  before  it — that  the  Episcopal  Church,  and 
even  Romanism,  would  be  speedily  exterminated ;  but  their  successors 
now  see  their  error,  with  the  unenviable  fact  well-known  to  them,  that 
there  are  numerous  and  powerful  sects,  of  their  own  polity  and  prin- 
ciples, who  are  their  deadliest  opponents.  But  to  revert  to  the  "  State 
of  Things  in  1696."— "  It  can  hardly,"  says  Mr  Forbes,  "  be  found  that 
ever  Scotland  was  in  a  worse  taking  than  it  was  in  before  this  last  Re- 
volution, or  that  any  people  had  a  better  occasion  of  redressing  their 
wrongs  and  settling  their  liberties,  to  the  honour  of  God  and  good  of 
posterity,  than  they  had  by  this  Revolution."  The  admissions  which 
follow  this  statement  are  not  a  little  remarkable.  "  And  yet,  hardly 
shall  it  be  found  that  one  occasion  of  this  nature  was  ever  more  mis 
managed  than  this  has  lately  been,  when  there  was  little  more  arisen  to 
us  yet,  than  the  unhappy  debate  amongst  ourselves  of  who  is  to  be  most 
blamed,  and  that  is  pursued  so  closely  with  calumnies  against  some,  and 
artifice  in  vindication  of  others,  that  without  a  true  information  of 
matter  of  fact  from  some  who  perfectly  know  it,  it  is  hard  for  honest  men 
to  distinguish  who  have  been  in  the  right  or  who  in  the  wrong.  There- 
fore it  is  thought  fit  to  make  a  memorandum  of  what  passed  since  the 
meeting  of  the  Estates  in  a  few  articles.  The  Estates  having  met,  it 
was  soon  found  that  the  stronger  party  there  was  of  such  who  wished 
the  freedom  of  their  Church  froni  Prelacy,  and  the  freedom  of  their 
State  from  arbitrary  government.  Any  who  were  led  by  both  or  either 
of  these  principles,  cemented  so  closely  together  in  favour  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  to  set  up  this  present  King  [William  III.],  that  every  point 
seeming  to  retard  or  delay  was  by  them  thrown  out  of  doors.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  adverse  party,  being  solely  made  up  of  Prelatists,  and  such 
as,  under  the  notion  of  serving  them  in  the  last  Government,  had  perse- 
cuted, and  advanced  tyranny,  believing,  from  a  guilt  of  conscience,  no 
salvation  to  be  for  them  but  in  the  standing  of  King  James,  used  all 
their  endeavours,  by  force  or  artifice,  to  hinder,  or  at  least  retard,  all 
proposals  in  favour  of  King  William." 

After  a  variety  of  details  respecting  King  William  and  the  Revolu- 
tion Government  in  Scotland,  Mr  Forbes  writes — "  There  was  only  one 
matter  of  import  which  seemed  to  take  its  rise  from  them,  viz.  some 
of  the  English  Officers  of  State  and  Bishops  had  been  with  the  King, 
desiring  him  to  put  a  stop  to  Presbytery  in  Scotland,  assuring  him  that 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  171 

the  Parliament  of  that  kingdom  was  not  so  much  inclined  to  Presbytery 
as  was  imagined  ;  that  they  were  informed  Episcopacy  had  not  been 
abolished  had  it  not  been  to  gratify  him,  and  if  his  Majesty  pleased  to 
call  that  Parliament  together  presently,  and  give  them  freedom  to  settle 
the  civil  rights  of  the  nation,  they  would  stop  any  farther  advancement 
of  Presbytery  ;  and  that  this  might  be  very  confidently  asserted,  for 
these  very  men,  to  wit,  the  Club,  who  were  the  abolishers  of  Episcopacy 
to  pleasure  the  King,  would  be  hinderers  of  the  advance  of  Presbytery 
to  obtain  their  civil  rights,  &c.  My  Lord  Melville  spoke  of  this  to  Sir 
Patrick  Home  with  a  great  deal  of  regret,  by  whom  he  is  not  believed, 
but  in  a  manner  laughed  at.  However,  within  some  few  days  there  is 
a  second  onset  made  upon  the  King  by  the  same  persons  to  the  same 
purpose,  without  receiving  any  positive  answer  from  him,  who,  within 
an  hour  after  they  were  gone,  called  for  Sir  Patrick  Home,  upon  whom 
he  looked  but  very  shyly  since  the  presenting  of  the  address." 

We  are  next  informed  that  the  King  "  inclined  to  call  for  Sir  Pat- 
rick Home,  but  Sir  Patrick  happening  not  to  be  about  the  Court,  Cul- 
loden  [Forbes]  was  brought  for  him,  who  happened  to  be  there."  What 
follows  presents  a  curious  and  instructive  view  of  the  opinions  of  the 
nation  with  respect  to  Presbyterianism.  King  William,  during  his  in- 
terview with  Forbes  of  Culloden,  "  had  several  questions  anent  the  con- 
dition of  Scotland  and  the  Parliament,  particularly  if  the  Presbyterian 
party  were  the  stronger,  and  if  the  peace  of  the  country  could  be  secured 
without  settling  the  government  of  the  Church;  and  if  Skelmorlie's  [Sir 
James  Montgomery]  interest  with  his  adherents  was  such  in  the  Parlia- 
ment as  could  oblige  the  nation  to  lay  aside  their  Church  government  ? 
To  all  which  there  were  plain  and  positive  answers  given,  with  reasons 
to  enforce  what  was  said,  wherewith  the  King  appeared  satisfied ;  after 
which  lie  broke  out  into  an  expostulation  of  the  notorious  injuries  he 
had  received  from  Sir  James  Montgomery  and  some  others,  in  creating 
him  all  the  troubles  and  mischiefs  imaginable,  reckoning  that  as  one 
among  the  rest — that  they  had  put  the  Church  of  England  upon  [against] 
him,  either  to  break  with  them,  or  break  with  the  Presbyterian  interest 
in  Scotland.  This  was  no  Miiall  occasion  of  admiration  to  Culloden. 
who  could  do  no  other  than  oall  the  verity  of  the  matter  in  question  ; 
whereupon  the  King  gave  bim  liberty  to  inquire  for  his  own  satisfaction, 
which  within  a  day  he  did,  and  he  found  Sir  Jamet  Montgomery  own 


172  HISTORY  OF  THE 

that  the  Presbyterian  party  were  the  least,  and  least  considerable  in  the 
Parliament  of  Scotland, — that  the  interest  of  the  nation  ought  not  to  be 
lost  for  our  Presbytery,  and  that  Queensberry,  Atholl,  &c,  were  very 
honest  men.  This  passed  at  the  Blue  Posts  in  the  Haymarket,  in  pre- 
sence of  Annandale,  Ross,  Riccarton,  and  Sir  William  Scott,  after  a 
full  account  had  been  given  by  Culloden  of  what  the  King  had  said  the 
night  before."* 

Much  might  be  said  respecting  these  important  disclosures,  but  it  is 
unnecessary.  It  is  at  once  apparent  that  for  some  years  after  the  Re- 
volution the  Presbyterian  Establishment  was  exceedingly  frail  and  tot- 
tering, and  that  the  leading  men  of  rank  and  talent  in  Scotland  were 
often  inclining  to  the  restoration  of  the  ejected  Church  in  all  her  tem- 
poral rights  and  privileges.  Meanwhile  the  surviving  Bishops  and 
clergy  lived  in  patient  retirement,  officiating  unostentatiously  to  all  who 
resorted  to  their  ministrations,  and  maintaining  the  religious  and  poli- 
tical principles  for  which  they  had  suffered.  Previous  to  the  year  1696 
two  of  the  Bishops  died — Bishop  Drummond  of  Brechin,  and  Bishop 
Wood  of  Caithness  ;  and  Bishop  Ramsay  of  Ross  died  in  1696  "  in 
very  low  circumstances."! 

Dr  Ross,  Archbishop  of  St  Andrews,  Dr  Paterson,  Archbishop  of 
Glasgow,  Bishop  Hamilton  of  Dunkeld,  Bishop  Graham  of  the  Isles, 
and  Bishop  Rose  of  Edinburgh,  resided  in  the  Scottish  metropolis, 
where  they  died.  Of  Archbishop  Paterson,  who  was  an  object  of  pecu- 
liar hatred  to  the  Presbyterians,  it  is  said,  that  "  he  seems  to  have  had 
a  good  deal  of  influence  even  with  some  who  were  at  the  helm  of  af- 
fairs."! The  Archbishop  was  nearly  related  to  several  ancient  fami- 
lies, and  the  esteem  in  which  his  Grace  was  held  by  many  of  the  most 
distinguished  persons  in  Scotland  to  the  day  of  his  death  in  1708,  is  a 
sufficient  refutation  of  the  contemptible  scurrilities  which  were  propa- 
gated against  him.  It  is  known  that  in  private  life,  after  he  was  ejected 
from  his  dignified  situation  in  the  Church,  the  Archbishop  exhibited  all 
the  hospitality  and  kindness  of  a  Scottish  gentleman  ;  and  his  body  was 
honoured  by  being  interred,  as  already  mentioned,  in  the  Chapel- Royal 
of  the  Palace  of  Holyrood.     It  is  proper  to  observe,  however,  that  a 

*  Cullodeii  Papers,  p.  328. 

f  Bishop  Russell's  Appendix  to  Keith's  Catalogue  of  the  Scottish  Bishops,  p.  517. 

|  Bishop  Russell,  vt  supra. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  173 

severe  character  is  given  of  this  prelate  even  by  a  friendly  hand.  He 
is  represented  as  "  a  man  of  extraordinary  parts  and  great  learning,  but 
extremely  proud  and  haughty  to  all  the  inferior  clergy  of  his  diocese, 
and  very  much  destitute  of  those  virtues  that  should  adorn  the  life  and 
conversation  of  one  so  highly  exalted  in  the  Church.  He  had  a  great 
management  of  the  government  of  both  Church  and  State  before  the 
Revolution.  After  the  abolishing  of  Episcopacy  he  lived  privately,  in- 
dulging that  avaricious  worldly  temper  which  had  sullied  his  other  quali- 
fications in  all  the  capacities  and  stations  of  his  life. ' '  *  It  is  clear  that  this 
is  the  language  of  political  animosity  and  resentment,  accusing  Arch- 
bishop Paterson  of  faults  which  are  merely  matters  of  opinion.  The  chief 
charge  against  his  Grace  is  avarice  ;  but  avarice  is  a  word  which  has 
various  definitions,  according  to  the  feelings  and  views  of  individuals. 
It  is  well  known  that  the  leading  adherents  of  the  exiled  Family  in  Scot- 
land were  continually  quarrelling  amongst  themselves,  and  that  they 
often  said  bitter  things  of  each  other,  of  which  they  repented  in  their 
moments  of  serious  reflection. 

As  to  the  state  of  the  Episcopal  Church  during  the  reign  of  King 
William,  it  may  be  generally  and  comprehensively  said  that  the  laity 
were  greatly  discountenanced  by  the  Government,  and  the  clergy  sub- 
jected to  many  hardships.  These  hardships  were  inflicted  for  political 
reasons  by  the  ruling  powers,  and  for  what  were  considered  religious 
grounds  by  the  Presbyterians.  An  act  passed  in  1695  may  be  instanced 
as  a  proof  of  the  conduct  of  the  latter.  This  act  prohibited  and  dis- 
charged every  outed  minister,  as  an  Episcopal  clergyman  was  called, 
"  from  baptizing  any  children,  or  solemnizing  marriage  betwixt  any 
parties,  in  all  time  coming,  under  pain  of  imprisonment,  ay  and  until  he 
find  caution  to  go  out  of  the  kingdom,  and  never  to  return  thereto."  This 
act  was  evidently  aimed  at  the  religion  of  the  ejected  clergy,  but  it 
appears  to  have  been  the  only  one  passed  by  the  Scottish  Parliament 
against  them  during  the  reign  of  William  III.,  while  those  against  the 
"  growth  of  Popery  "  are  frequent.  Some  of  them  ventured  to  cele- 
brate (Urine  service  in  their  own  hired  houses  on  Sundays,  and  other 
holidays  sanctioned  by  the  Church,  and  the  doors  of  those  houses  were 
left  open  to  enable  .'ill   who  were   inclined  to  enjoy  the  benefits  of  roli- 

*  Lockh.irt  Papers,  rol.  «   pp.  84,  86. 


174  HISTORY  OF  THE 

gion.  This  was  considered  a  heinous  offence  ;  and  a  list  of  the  princi- 
pal parties  was  transmitted  to  the  Privy  Council,  who  prosecuted  two 
of  them,  but  the  sentence  pronounced  is  not  recorded.  Nevertheless, 
as  Bishop  Russell  observes,  "  the  greater  part  of  the  nobility  and  land- 
holders of  ancient  families  continued  strongly  attached"  to  the  Epis- 
copal Church,  and  "  the  time  was  now  approaching  when  they  expected 
and  obtained  gentler  and  more  equitable  treatment." 

It  is  only  justice  to  the  memory  of  William  III.  to  say  that  person- 
ally he  was  not  the  enemy  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church.  This  is 
undeniable  from  various  historical  documents,  and  he  even  seems  to 
have  respected  the  Bishops  and  clergy  for  their  conscientious  adherence 
to  his  father-in-law.  Smollett,  moreover,  says,  that  "  the  Presbyterians 
in  Scotland  acted  with  such  folly,  violence,  and  tyranny,  as  rendered 
them  equally  odious  and  contemptible.  The  transactions  in  their  Gene- 
ral Assembly  were  carried  on  with  such  peevishness,  partiality,  and  in- 
justice, that  the  King  dissolved  it  by  an  act  of  state,  and  convoked  ano- 
ther for  the  month  of  November  in  the  following  year.  The  Episcopal 
party  promised  to  enter  heartily  into  the  interests  of  the  new  Govern- 
ment, to  keep  the  Highlanders  quiet,  and  to  induce  the  clergy  to  ac- 
knowledge and  serve  King  William,  provided  he  would  balance  the  power 
of  Melville  and  his  partizans  in  such  a  manner  as  would  secure  them 
from  violence  and  oppression — provided  the  Episcopal  ministers  should 
be  permitted  to  perform  their  functions  among  those  people  by  whom 
they  were  beloved,  and  that  such  of  them  as  were  willing  to  mix  with 
the  Presbyterians  in  their  judicatories  should  be  admitted  without  any 
severe  imposition  in  point  of  opinion.  The  King,  who  was  extremely 
disgusted  at  the  Presbyterians,  relished  the  proposal,  and  young  Dal- 
rymple,  son  of  Lord  Stair,  was  appointed  joint  secretary  of  state  with 
Melville.*  Again,  it  is  stated  by  the  same  historian: — "  The  King  had 
suffered  so  much  in  his  reputation  by  his  compliance  to  the  Presbyte- 
rians of  Scotland,  and  was  so  displeased  with  that  stubborn  sect  of  reli- 
gionists, that  he  thought  proper  to  admit  some  prelatists  into  the  admini- 
stration. The  Episcopalians  triumphed  in  the  King's  favour,  and  began 
to  treat  their  antagonists  with  insolence  and  scorn,  the  Presbyterians 
were  incensed  to  see  their  friends  disgraced,  and  their  enemies  distin- 

•   Smollett's  History  of  England,  4to,  edit.  1758,  vol-  iv.  p.  64. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  1  75 

guished  by  the  royal  indulgence.  They  insisted  upon  the  authority  of 
the  law,  which  happened  to  be  on  their  side  ;  they  became,  more  than 
ever,  sour,  surly,  and  implacable  ;  they  refused  to  concur  with  the  Pre- 
latists,  or  abate  in  the  least  circumstance  of  discipline  ;  and  their  As- 
sembly was  dissolved  without  any  time  or  place  assigned  for  the  next 
meeting.  The  Presbyterians  pretended  an  independent  right  of  assem- 
bling annually,  even  without  a  call  from  His  Majesty  ;  they  therefore  ad- 
journed themselves,  after  having  protested  against  the  dissolution.  The 
King  resented  this  measure  as  an  insolent  invasion  of  the  prerogative, 
and  conceived  an  aversion  to  the  whole  sect,  who  in  their  turn  began 
to  lose  all  respect  for  his  person  and  government."* 

Similar  passages  might  be  quoted  from  various  historians  to  show 
that  King  William's  support  of  Presbyterianism  in  Scotland  was  alto- 
gether political,  and  that  he  was  often  irritated  at  the  conduct  of  the 
party  on  whom  the  temporalities  of  the  ejected  Church  had  been  con- 
ferred. The  truth,  however,  is,  that  the  government  of  Scotland  during 
the  whole  of  King  William's  reign  was  in  the  most  wretched  condition, 
and  the  spirit  of  partizanship  was  carried  even  into  private  life.  At- 
tachment to  the  exiled  or  to  the  reigning  dynasty  was  the  grand  topic 
of  public  and  private  discussion,  and  influenced  even  the  religious  prin- 
ciples of  the  people.  The  settlement  of  the  succession  in  1700  in  favour 
of  the  House  of  Hanover  increased  the  irritation  of  the  adherents  of 
the  fallen  monarch,  but  the  death  of  King  James  made  no  alteration 
in  their  principles  and  prospects  ;  for  they  considered  his  son,  who  had 
been  recognised  and  proclaimed  his  successor  by  the  King  of  France, 
the  Duke  of  Savoy,  and  the  Pope,  as  their  legitimate  sovereign,  to  whom 
their  allegiance  was  indisputably  due,  and  in  all  their  correspondence 
with  this  unfortunate  heir  of  the  House  of  Stuart  they  recognised  him 
as  such.  It  was,  therefore,  a  sincere  principle  of  what  they  deemed  loyalty 
which  animated  the  Protestant  Jacobite  party,  for  they  well  knew,  as 
has  been  justly  stated,  that  King  James,  "  in  his  last  illness,  conjured 
his  son  to  prefer  his  religion  to  every  worldly  advantage,  and  even  to 
renounce  all  thoughts  of  a  crown  if  he  could  not  enjoy  it  without  offer- 
ing violence  to  his  faith." 

•   Smollett,  vol.   ir.  p.  77. 


176  HISTORY  OF  THE 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ACCESSION  OF  QUEEN  ANNE — FIRST  CONSECRATION  IN  SCOTLAND 

AFTER  THE  REVOLUTION. 

The  accession  of  Queen  Anne  in  1702  was  hailed  with  peculiar  satisfac- 
tion by  the  adherents  of  the  exiled  dynasty.  The  Jacobites,  as  they 
were  called,  persuaded  themselves  that,  as  her  Majesty  could  now  leave 
no  heirs,  natural  affection  and  inclination  would  secure  her  exertions  in 
behalf  of  her  brother,  whom  the  French  monarch,  the  Pope,  and  others, 
had  already  recognised  as  King  of  Great  Britain.  They  in  consequence 
submitted  to  the  Queen's  authority,  viewing  her  as  a  kind  of  regent  for 
the  Chevalier  St  George,  whose  restoration  they  firmly  believed  the  so- 
vereign intended  to  secure. 

At  the  accession  of  Queen  Anne  the  Government  of  Scotland  was  in  a 
most  unsettled  condition.  While  the  Cavalier  party  rejoiced  at  their 
fancied  prospects  under  the  new  reign,  the  Presbyterians  felt  themselves 
in  a  very  hazardous  position.  According  to  the  author  of  the  "  Lock- 
hart  Papers,"  first  published  in  1817,  they  "  looked  upon  themselves  as 
undone ;  despair  appeared  upon  their  countenances,  which  were  more 
upon  the  melancholic  and  dejected  air  than  usual,  and  most  of  their  ex- 
hortations from  the  pulpit  were  to  stand  by  and  support  Christ's  cause, 
the  epithet  they  gave  their  own.  They  knew  the  Queen  was  a  strenu- 
ous asserter  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  England  ;  they  were  con- 
scious how  little  respect  the  great  men  of  their  faction  had  paid  her 
during  the  late  reign ;  they  saw  the  Church  party  were  preferred  to 
places  and  power  in  England  ;  they  knew  that  the  Scots  nation,  especi- 
ally the  nobility  and  gentry,  were  much  disgusted  at  them,  because  of 
their  promoting  the  Court  Interest  in  the  last  reign  against  that  of  the 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  177 

Country  ;*  and  upon  these  and  such  like  accounts  they  dreaded  a  storm 
impending  over  their  heads."  This  writer  gives  the  following  severe 
character  of  the  Presbyterians  of  that  time,  which  is  merely  inserted 
here  to  show  the  estimation  in  which  they  were  held  by  the  zealous 
Jacobite  nobility  and  gentry.  The  Cavaliers,  "  being,  I  say  it  impartially, 
of  generous  spirits,  and  designing  good  and  just  things,  believe  every 
man  is  so  too,  and  are  not  at  such  pains  as  is  necessary  to  cement  a 
party's  councils  and  measures  together  ;  whereas  the  Presbyterians,  act- 
ing from  a  selfish  principle,  and  conscious  of  their  ill  actions  and  de- 
signs, are,  like  the  devil  himself,  never  idle,  but  always  projecting,  and 
so  closely  linked  together,  that  all  go  the  same  way,  and  all  stand  or  fall 
together." 

Queen  Anne  was  a  devoted  member  of  the  Church  of  England,  the 
orthodox  clergy  of  which  she  always  considered  the  real  friends  of  mo- 
narchy and  religion.  Her  accession  caused  a  change  of  the  Ministry  in 
Scotland,  which  was  favourable  to  the  depressed  Episcopal  Church — a 
Church  held  in  the  utmost  respect  by  the  sovereign,  who  well  knew  the 
sufferings  endured  by  its  adherents  for  their  attachment  to  her  Family. 
A  letter  was  procured  by  James  Duke  of  Hamilton!  to  the  Scottish 
Privy  Council,  in  which  the  Queen  expressed  her  desire  that  the  Pres- 
byterian incumbents  should  live  in  peace  and  friendly  intercourse  with 
such  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  who  were  still  in  possession  of  the  parishes, 
and  who  submitted  to  the  Government.  Encouraged  by  such  favour- 
able manifestations,  the  clergy  presented  an  address  to  the  Queen,  im- 
ploring her  royal  protection,  and  beseecning  her  to  allow  those  parishes 
in  which  the  Episcopalians  were  the  majority  to  be  held  by  episcopally 
ordained  ministers.  This  address  or  petition  was  laid  before  the  Queen 
by  Dr  Skene  and  Dr  Scott,  who  were  introduced  to  her  Majesty  for 


*  The  Court  Interest  and  the  Country  Interest,  the  Whigs  and  Tories  of  those 
times,  were  then  the  common  designation  of  the  two  great  political  parties. 

f  This  Nobleman,  styled  Earl  of  Arran,  was  the  eldest  son  of  William  and  Anne, 
DuUe  and  I>urhess  of  Hamilton.  He  delivered  his  sentiments,  previously  quoted. 
pecting  the  invasion  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  in  presence  of  his  father  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Scottish  Nubility  in  London  in  January  1G89.  According  to  the  Marquis 
of  Annandale'a  confession  to  Kine;  William,  he  was  deeply  implicated  in  the  plot  "t 
Sir  James  Montgomery  of  Bkelmorlie  for  the  restoration  of  the  exiled  dv  nasty,  for 
wleeh  he  p  n  twice  committed  to  the  Tower  of  London. 

M 


178  HISTORY  OF  THE 

that  purpose  by  tlie  Duke  of  Queensberry.  The  Queen  received  them 
favourably,  assured  them  that  she  would  do  all  in  her  power  to  relieve 
their  necessities,  and  exhorted  them  to  be  mildly  disposed  towards  the 
Presbyterian  ministers  who  were  then  in  legal  possession  of  the  parishes. 
This  was  followed  by  a  proclamation  for  a  general  indemnity,  of  which 
many  Scottish  gentlemen  in  France  and  on  the  Continent  took  advan- 
tage. They  qualified  themselves  to  sit  in  Parliament,  and  thus  the 
members  of  the  ejected  Church  increased  in  numbers  and  influence  even 
as  a  political  party  in  Scotland. 

Notwithstanding  the  alarm  of  the  Presbyterians  at  the  prospect  of 
their  affairs,  their  influence  preponderated  in  the  first  Parliament  of 
Queen  Anne,  held  at  Edinburgh  on  the  9th  of  June  1702,  the  Duke  of 
Queensberry  Lord  High  Commissioner.  It  is  said  that  Sir  William 
Bruce  of  Kinross,  sheriff  of  that  county,  was  expelled  from  the  House 
for  maintaining,  in  reply  to  a  motion  for  an  act  to  secure  the  Presby- 
terian Church  government,  that  Presbytery  was  inconsistent  with  mo- 
narchy. It  is  proper  to  state,  however,  that  the  name  of  Sir  William 
Bruce  is  not  on  the  parliamentary  roll  as  present  on  that  occasion. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  inclinations  of  the  Queen,  there  was 
evidently  no  intention  to  disturb  the  Presbyterian  Establishment.  In 
her  Majesty's  letter  presented  by  the  Lord  High  Commissioner  it  is 
stated — "  We  give  you  full  assurance  that  we  are  firmly  resolved  to 
maintain  and  protect  them  [the  people]  in  the  full  possession  of  their 
religion,  laws,  and  liberties,  and  of  the  Presbyterian  government  of  the 
Church  as  at  present  established."*  It  was  moved  that  "  an  act  be 
brought  in  next  sederunt  of  Parliament  for  securing  the  Protestant  re- 
ligion and  Presbyterian  Church  government."  This  act  was  produced 
on  the  11th,  and  passed,  on  which  occasion  a  national  fast  was  ordered. 
In  this  Parliament  an  act  was  also  passed  "  enabling  her  Majesty  to 
appoint  Commissioners  to  treat  for  an  union  betwixt  the  two  kingdoms 
of  England  and  Scotland."  In  the  letter  addressed  to  the  Queen  on 
this  important  subject  by  the  Estates  of  Parliament  they  declare — "  It 
fell  under  our  consideration,  that  when  the  meeting  of  the  Estates  did, 
at  the  late  King's  accession  to  the  throne,  nominate  commissioners  for 
the  like  treaty,  they  expressly  reserved  our  Church  government  as  it 

*  Acta  Pari.  Scot.  vol.  xi.  p.  12. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  179 

should  be  established  at  the  time  of  the  Union.  But  the  Presbyterian 
religion  being  founded  on  the  Claim  of  Right,  with  our  entire  confi- 
dence in  the  full  assurance  your  Majesty  has  been  pleased  to  give  us, 
that  you  are  firmly  resolved  to  protect  and  maintain  us  in  the  full  pos- 
session of  the  Presbyterian  government  of  the  Church  as  at  present 
established,  are  our  satisfying  security.  And,  therefore,  hoping  that 
your  Majesty,  both  in  the  naming  of  the  commissioners  and  in  the 
whole  procedure  of  the  treaty,  will  have  a  gracious  and  careful  regard 
to  the  maintaining  of  the  Presbyterian  government  of  the  Church  as 
now  established  by  act  of  Parliament ;  and,  satisfied  by  your  Majesty 
in  this  session  of  Parliament,  and  which  in  the  experience  of  all  is  found 
to  be  the  true  interest  and  solid  foundation  of  the  peace  and  quiet 
of  this  kingdom,  we  heartily  wish  for  such  an  accomplishment  of  this 
great  work  as  may  be  to  your  Majesty's  perpetual  honour,  and  the  last- 
ing welfare  and  happiness  of  both  kingdoms."* 

This  letter  to  Queen  Anne  is  moderately  expressed,  and  no  one  can 
object  to  the  Presbyterians  using  every  exertion  to  secure  the  stability 
of  their  Establishment,  and  possession  of  the  temporalities.  This  was  to 
be  expected  from  any  religious  party  in  their  situation,  and  already 
sanctioned  by  several  acts  of  Parliament.  In  some  of  the  proceedings 
of  this  Session  the  Estates  evinced  their  sincerity  in  the  matter.  The 
learned  body  of  Scottish  barristers,  called  the  Faculty  of  Advocates,  were 
prosecuted  for  having  voted  at  one  of  their  meetings  in  accordance  witli 
the  sentiments  alleged  to  have  been  urged  by  Sir  William  Bruce.  They 
were  "  charged  and  pursued  by  my  Lord  Advocate  before  the  Parlia- 
ment, where,  after  several  long  debates,  they  were  severely  reprimand- 
ed." This,  however,  must  have  been  done  by  the  Privy  Council,  to 
whom  the  whole  case  was  ultimately  referred.! 

The  favourable  sentiments  expressed  by  Queen  Anne  to  the  clergy 
Bud  laity  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  sufficiently  indicated  that 
her  Majesty  would  discourage  any  attempts  at  legal  prosecution  against 
them.  In  1 703,  the  Rev.  Robert  Caldcr  published  a  small  work  which  ex- 
cited tho  fierce  resentment  and  opposition  of  tho  Presbyterians,  entitled, 
"  Reasons   for  ■  Toleration  of  Episcopacy.''     This  caused  a  regular 


*    ,\.t;i  l'arl.  Sc.t.  \c,l.   \i.  pp.  2(5,27. 

f   Aita  Pari  Boot,  rot  \i.  pp.  27,  88.     Lookhaii  Popon,  rot  L  pp.  -»7.  W 


180  HISTOPwY  OF  THE 

pamphlet  war.  Although,  however,  no  toleration  was  issued  by  the  Go- 
vernment, numbers  of  the  clergy  now  collected  congregations  in  chapels, 
and  regularly  celebrated  divine  service,  praying  for  the  Queen  by  name. 
In  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  in  the  alley  on  the  north  side  of  the  High 
Street  called  Carrubber's  Close,  is  St  Paul's  Episcopal  Chapel,  externally 
a  plain  oblong  building.  An  inscription  over  the  door  intimates  that  it 
was  erected  in  1 689,  and  the  tradition  is,  that  it  was  the  scene  of  the 
ministrations  of  Bishop  Rose  after  his  ejection  from  his  own  cathedral 
church  of  St  Giles  farther  up  the  street.  If  this  could  be  substantiated 
this  little  chapel  would  be  deeply  interesting  to  every  churchman  ;  but 
it  appears,  after  a  careful  investigation,  that  Bishop  Rose  did  not  stated- 
ly officiate  to  any  particular  congregation  as  pastor  after  the  Revolu- 
tion. Several  chapels  were  fitted  up  in  other  alleys  of  the  Old  Town 
of  Edinburgh,  the  New  Town  not  being  in  existence  for  upwards  of 
eighty  years  afterwards.  At  a  recent  visit  by  the  present  writer  to  one 
of  those  former  scenes  of  pastoral  duty,  where  Bishop  Abernethy  Drum- 
mond  officiated,  called  Skinners'  Hall,  in  Skinners'  Close,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  High  Street,  he  found  it  occupied  by  a  disreputable  set  of 
strolling  players.  This  "  Hall"  is  the  upper  storey  of  an  antique  tenement 
at  the  bottom  of  the  alley,  which  was  long  respectable,  and  attended  by 
persons  of  the  first  rank.  In  the  Mint  Close,  below  Skinners'  Close, 
were  several  temporarily  fitted  up  chapels,  or  meeting -houses,  as  they 
were  called,  to  which  access  was  obtained  by  the  common  stairs  leading 
to  the  several  storeys.  Todrick's  Wynd  and  Blackfriars'  Wynd  could 
also  boast  of  their  Episcopal  "  meeting-houses."  As  it  respects  Glas- 
gow, we  are  told  that  "  the  Scottish  Episcopalians  were  the  first  reli- 
gious body,  not  connected  with  the  [Presbyterian]  Church  of  Scotland, 
who  regularly  met  for  worship  after  the  Revolution."*  Glasgow  was 
then  a  small  city,  the  population  at  the  Union  being  scarcely  14,000. 
The  kind  of  accommodation  which  the  members  of  the  Church  provided 
for  themselves  is  not  mentioned,  but  it  must  have  been  very  indifferent, 
for  in  1715,  when  Bishop  Alexander  Duncan,  formerly  minister  of  New 
Kilpatrick  on  the  Clyde,  became  the  first  stated  officiating  pastor,  the 
congregation  assembled  in  a  dwelling-house  in  the  now  uninviting  Bell 

*  Cleland's  Annals  of  Glasgow,  vol.  i.  p.  139. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  181 

Street,  and  in  subsequent  years  we  find  them  removing  to  Candleriggs 
Street  and  Stockwell  Street. 

The  example  of  those  clergy  who  collected  congregations  in  the  cities 
and  towns,  and  acknowledged  the  Government,  was  followed  by  those 
who  refused  to  pray  for  the  Queen  by  name,  among  whom  were  the  sur- 
viving Bishops  ;  yet  their  conscientious  political  scruples  gave  no  offence 
to  her  Majesty,  and  they  were  permitted  to  go  on  in  their  own  way 
Bishop  Rose,  of  Edinburgh,  was  even  allowed  a  pension  out  of  the  Epis- 
copal revenues,  or  Bishops'  Rents,  which  he  enjoyed  till  after  the  acces- 
sion of  George  I.  in  1716. 

The  death  of  Archbishop  Ross  of  St  Andrews,  in  1704,  seems  to  have 
drawn  the  attention  of  the  surviving  Bishops  to  the  immediate  and  im- 
perative necessity  of  preserving  and  perpetuating  the  Church.  After 
the  death  of  the  aged  Primate,  Bishop  Rose  appears  to  have  exercised 
the  metropolitan  authority  over  the  Presbyters  during  his  life,  under 
the  ancient  Scottish  title  of  the  Bishops  of  St  Andrews — that  of  Pri- 
mus Scotice  Episcopus,  before  the  See  was  constituted  archiepiscopal. 

Two  Presbyters  were  selected  for  the  episcopate, — the  Rev.  John 
Fullarton,  formerly  one  of  the  ministers  of  Paisley,  and  the  Rev.  John 
Sage,  formerly  one  of  the  ministers  of  Glasgow.  It  was  expressly  sti- 
pulated with  the  new  Bishops  that  the  government  of  the  Church  was 
to  remain  exclusively  with  the  ejected  Prelates  during  their  lifetime, 
and  that  they  were  to  exercise  no  diocesan  power,  or  be  appointed  to 
the  superintendence  of  any  particular  district.  The  sole  object  in  the 
meantime  was  to  preserve  the  episcopal  succession.  It  appears  that 
the  consecration  was  performed  at  the  residence  of  Archbishop  Pater- 
son  in  Edinburgh,  on  the  25th  of  January  1705.  Tho  Archbishop, 
Bishop  Rose,  and  Bishop  Douglas,  performed  the  consecration,  the 
"  letters"  of  which  were  first  published  by  Bishop  Russell,*  and  must 
not  be  omitted  in  this  narrative,  because  the  document  explains  the 
motives  which  induced  the  venerable  Bishops  to  advance  the  two  Pres- 
byters to  the  episcopate. — 

"  Apud  Edinlnir^um,  die  vievsimo  quinto  mends  Januarii,  anno  al>  incamato 
Domino  et  Servatoro  nostri  milli'simo  Beptingentuimo  quinto. 
•<  Nos — Joannes,  proi  idmtia  divina  Arcbiepisoopua  Glascuensia,  Alexander  mi- 

serali'Mif  divina  F.pi.si-opu.s  Hdinburgensis,   et  Robertas  niiscratioiK'  divina  EpiflOOptU 
*  Appendix  to  Keith's  Catalogue  «»f  i ho  Scottish  Bishops,  |>   518 


182  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Dunblanensis,  in  timore  Domini  ponderantes  plerosque  fratrum  nostrorum  carissi- 
morum,  et  in  collegio  Episcopale  collegarum  (hoc  nupere  elapso,  et  ecclesise  nostra? 
luctuoso  curriculo)  in  Domino  abdormiisse,  nosque  perpaucos  qui  divina  miseracordia 
superstites  sunius,  multiplicitus  curis,  morbis,  atque  ingravescente  senio  tantum  non 
confectos  esse ;  Quapropter  ex  eo  quod  Deo  Supremo,  Servatori  nostri,  sacrosanctae 
ejus  ecclesise,  et  posteris  debemus,  in  animum  induximus,  officium,  caracterem,  et 
facultatem  Episcopalem,  aliis  probis,  fidelibus,  ad  docendum  et  regendum  idoneis 
hominibus  committere  ;  inter  quos  quum  nobis  ex  propria  scientia  constet,  reveren- 
dum  nostrum  fratrem  Joannem  Sage,  artium  magistrem,  et  Presbyterum  Glascuen- 
sem,  tanto  muneri  aptum  et  idoneum  esse ;  nos  igitur  divini  muneris  presidio  freti, 
secundum  gratiam  nobis  concessam,  die,  mense,  anno  suprascriptis,  in  sacrario  domus 
Archiepiscopi  Glascuensis,  supradictum  Joannem  Sage,  ordinavimus,  consecravimus, 
et  in  nostrum  Episcopale  Collegium  co-optavimus.  In  cujus  rei  testimonium  sigilla 
Joannis  Archiepiscopi  Glascuensis,  et  Alexandri  Episcopi  Edinburgensis  (Sedis 
Sancti  Andreae  nunc  vacantis)  huic  instrumento  (chirographis  nostris  pius  munito), 
appendi  mandavimus.      Sic  subscrib. 

"  Jo.  Glascuen.     Alex.  Edinburgen.     Ro.  Ddmblane." 

Of  Bishop  Fullarton,  who  was  ejected  from  Paisley  at  the  Revolution, 
little  is  personally  known,  or  rather  no  particular  events  of  his  clerical 
life  appear  to  be  of  marked  importance.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable 
learning,  great  piety  and  respectability,  and  held  in  the  utmost  esteem 
by  his  brethren.  Like  Bishop  Sage,  he  was  invested  with  an  office  at 
all  times  of  great  responsibility,  and  at  that  crisis  an  office  of  very  pe- 
culiar personal  danger,  when  no  temporal  motives  could  induce  any 
man  to  accept  it.  The  talent,  the  industry,  and  the  sufferings  of  Bishop 
Sage,  entitle  him  to  a  particular  notice  in  this  narrative,  as  one  of  the 
distinguished  ornaments  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church. 

Bishop  Sage  was  born  in  the  parish  of  Criech  in  Fife,  in  1652.  His 
parents,  though  of  limited  resources,  were  of  good  station,  and  his  an- 
cestors had  resided  in  the  parish  for  seven  generations.  His  father  was 
a  captain  in  the  regiment  commanded  by  Alexander  first  Lord  Duffus, 
engaged  in  the  defence  of  Dundee,  when  that  town  was  stormed  by  Ge- 
neral Monk  in  1651,  and  as  his  property  was  considerably  affected  by 
his  loyalty,  a  liberal  education  was  all  he  could  bestow  on  his  son,  who 
was  educated  at  the  University  of  St  Andrews,  where  he  took  the  de- 
gree of  Master  of  Arts  in  1672.  Bishop  Sage  soon  afterwards  became 
parochial  schoolmaster  successively  of  Ballingry  in  Fife,  and  of  Tipper- 
muii  near  Perth.  The  incidents  of  his  life  are  expressively  narrated 
in  the  "  Biographical  Dictionary  of  Eminent  Scotsmen"  by  Mr  Robert 
Chambers.     "  Though  in  these  humble  situations  [as  schoolmaster]  he 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  183 

wanted  many  of  the  necessaries,  and  all  the  comforts  of  life,  he  prose- 
cuted his  studies  with  unwearied  diligence.  Unfortunately,  however,  in 
increasing  his  stock  of  learning,  he  imbibed  the  seeds  of  several  diseases 
which  afflicted  him  through  the  whole  of  his  life,  and,  notwithstanding 
the  vigour  of  his  constitution,  tended  ultimately  to  shorten  his  days. 
To  the  cultivated  mind  of  such  a  man  as  Sage,  the  drudgery  of  a  parish 
school  must  have  been  an  almost  intolerable  slavery,  and  he,  therefore, 
readily  accepted  the  offer  of  Mr  Drummond  of  Cultmalundie  of  a  situa- 
tion in  his  family,  to  superintend  the  education  of  his  sons.  He  ac- 
companied those  young  persons  to  the  grammar  school  of  Perth,  and 
afterwards  attended  them  in  the  capacity  of  tutor  to  the  University  of 
St  Andrews.  At  Perth  he  acquired  the  esteem  of  Dr  Rose,  subse- 
quently Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  his 
age,  and  at  St  Andrews  he  obtained  the  friendship  and  countenance  of 
all  the  great  literary  characters  of  the  period."  Having  superintended 
the  education  of  his  pupils,  Sage  was  recommended  by  his  friend  Dr 
Rose,  who  then  filled  the  theological  chair  in  the  University  of  Glas- 
gow, to  Archbishop  Ross,  who  admitted  him  into  holy  orders,  and  pre- 
sented him  to  one  of  the  parish  churches  of  that  city.  "  At  the  period 
of  his  advancement  in  the  Church  he  was  about  thirty- four  years  of 
age  ;  his  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  was  very  great ;  he  was  thorough 
master  of  school  divinity,  and  had  entered  deeply  into  the  modern  con- 
troversies, especially  those  between  the  Romish  and  Protestant  Churches, 
and  also  into  the  disputes  among  the  rival  churches  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. Tie  was  in  consequence  very  highly  esteemed  by  his  brethren, 
and  was  soon  after  appointed  clerk  of  the  Diocesan  Synod  of  Glasgow, 
an  office  of  great  responsibility."  In  his  Life  by  Bishop  Gillan,  pub- 
lished in  1714,  we  are  told  that  during  the  few  years  he  was  in  Glasgow 
anterior  to  the  Revolution,  his  "  wise  and  prudent  conduct,  his  exem- 
plary life  and  conversation,  and  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  ministerial 
office,  made  him  to  be  honoured  and  beloved  by  all  good  nun,  as  one  of 
the  greatest  lights  of  the  Church,  and  esteemed  and  applauded  even  bj 
the  Dissenters.  About  the  end  of  1G88,  when  the  barbarous  rabbling 
of  the  Bpisoopal  ministers  was  set  on  foot  in  the  West  country,  though 
be  did  not  escape  the  common  fate,  yet  he  was  more  civilly  treated  DJ 
those  impious  despisera  of  all  human  and  divine  law b  than  some  of  oil 
brethren      The   tamU  contented  themselves  with  giving   Mr  Sage  a 


184  HISTORY  OF  THE 

warning  to  depart  from  Glasgow,  and  threatenings  if  he  ever  returned." 
He  was  told  to  "  shake  off  the  dust  from  his  feet,  and  withdraw  from 
Glasgow,  and  never  venture  to  appear  there  again." 

Sage  retired  to  Edinburgh,  carrying  with  him  the  Diocesan  Books 
which  he  delivered  to  Bishop  Rose,  as  they  were  found  in  that  vene- 
rable Prelate's  possession  after  his  decease,  and  delivered  by  his  nephew 
to  the  Presbytery  of  Glasgow.  Those  books  had  been  repeatedly  de- 
manded by  the  Presbyterians,  and  decidedly  refused,  from  a  hope 
which  Sa°re  continued  to  cherish  that  a  second  restoration  of  the  Church 
would  take  place.  To  forward  that  great  object,  though  occasionally 
officiating  in  the  episcopal  congregations  of  the  Scottish  metropolis,  he 
chiefly  occupied  himself  in  those  polemical  works  which  are  monuments 
of  his  learning  and  zeal,  and  infinitely  annoyed  his  adversaries.  He 
resolutely  refused  to  acknowledge  the  Revolution  Government,  and  was 
in  consequence  expelled  from  the  city  by  order  of  the  Privy  Council. 
He  found  refuge  with  Sir  William  Bruce,  in  that  gentleman's  country 
seat  of  Kinross,  where  the  Rev.  Mr  Christie,  the  ejected  incumbent  of 
Kinross,  afterwards  a  Bishop,  also  occasionally  resided.  Sage  was  pe- 
culiarly obnoxious  to  the  Government,  as  was  also  his  friend  Sir  William 
Bruce,  who  admired  his  virtues  and  approved  his  principles.  About 
1694  or  1695,  he  ventured  on  one  occasion  to  Edinburgh  to  transact 
some  private  business,  when  he  was  recognised  in  the  streets,  and  car- 
ried before  the  magistrates,  who  compelled  him  to  find  security  that  he 
would  leave  the  city,  and  never  return,  though  he  did  return  in  the  suc- 
ceeding reign.  In  1696,  when  Sir  William  Bruce  was  committed  a 
prisoner  to  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh  on  a  charge  of  corresponding  with 
the  exiled  Family,  a  warrant  was  issued  to  search  the  houses  which  Sage 
was  known  to  visit  for  his  apprehension.  He  escaped  to  the  Grampian 
Mountains  in  Forfarshire,  where  he  lived  destitute  and  friendless  under 
the  assumed  name  of  Jackson,  eluding  his  persecutors  some  months  un- 
der the  pretence  to  the  natives  that  he  required  goat's  milk  and  a  change 
of  air.  The  liberation  of  Sir  William  Bruce  was  attended  with  a  re- 
laxation of  the  severity  of  his  enemies,  and  he  afterwards  became  chap- 
lain to  the  Countess  of  Callendar,  a  grand- daughter  of  the  great  Mar- 
quis of  Montrose,  and  preceptor  to  her  son,  who  succeeded  his  father 
as  fourth  Earl  of  Callendar  in  1692,  and  his  uncle  as  fifth  Earl  of  Lin- 
lithgow in  1695.     When  his  services  were  no  longer  required  in  that 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  185 

capacity  he  was  received  into  the  ancient  family  of  Stewart  of  Grandtnlly. 
In  1706,  about  a  year  after  his  consecration,  he  was  confined  by  a  dan- 
gerous illness  nine  months  in  the  house  of  Mr  Christie  near  Kinross. 
"  After  patiently  lingering  in  Scotland  without  improvement,  the  perse- 
cutions to  which  he  was  subject  increasing  his  malady,  he  was  induced 
to  try  the  efficacy  of  the  waters  at  Bath  in  1709.     But  this  also  failed 
him  ;  the  seat  of  his  disease  lay  deeper  than  medical  skill  could  reach. 
He  remained  a  year  at  Bath  and  London,  when  the  great  recognised 
and  the  learned  caressed  and  courted  him,  and  where  it  was  the  wish 
of  many  distinguished  persons  that  he  should  spend  the  remainder  of 
his  life.     The  love  of  his  country  and  of  his  native  Church  overcame  all 
entreaties,  and  he  returned  to  Scotland  in  1710  with  a  debilitated  body, 
but  a  mind  as  vigorous  as  ever.     Worn  out  with  disease  and  mental 
anguish,  Bishop  Sage  died  at  Edinburgh  on  the  7th  of  June  1711,  la- 
mented by  his  friends,  and  feared  by  his  adversaries." 

Such  was  the  man  on  whom,  along  with  Bishop  Fullarton,  the  first  epis- 
copate was  conferred  in  Scotland  after  the  Revolution.     The  works  of 
Bishop  Sage  are  now  very  scarce,  and  are  chiefly  found  in  the  libraries  of 
the  collectors  of  polemical  literature.    One  of  them  is  entitled  the  "  Prin- 
ciples of  the  Cyprianic  Age  with  regard  to  Episcopal  Power  and  Juris- 
diction," published  in  London  in  1695.    Gilbert  Rule,  the  Presbyterian 
successor  of  Principal  Monro  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and  one 
of  the  chief  pamphleteering  writers  in  defence  of  his  party,  asserted  in 
one  of  his  controversial  productions  that  if  Episcopacy  could  be  traced 
to  the  time  of  St  Cyprian  in  the  third  century,  he  [Rule]  would  re- 
nounce  Presbyterianism  and  conform  to  the  Church.    The  challenge 
was  accepted  by  Sage,  and  he  wrote  the  valuable  and  learned  work 
above  mentioned,   one  of  the  most  conclusive  demonstrations  of  the 
apostolical  and  primitive  authority  of  Episcopacy.     But  Rule  would 
not  or  could  not  be  convinced,  and  published  a  reply  in  1 096,  entitled, 
"  The  Cyprianic  Bishop  examined,  and  found  not  to  be  Diocesan,  nor 
to  have  Superior  Power  to  a  Parish  Minister,  or  Presbyterian  Modera- 
tor, being  an  Answer  to  John  Sago  his  Principles  of  the  Cyprianic  A/iv  ; 
together  with  an  Appendix,  in  Answer  to  a  railing  Preface  to  a  Book 
entitnled,  The   Fundamental   Charter  of  Presbytery."     This  produced 

a  reply  from  Sage  in  17»>1,  in  the  form  of"  A  Vindication  of  the  Prin- 
ciples of  the  I  !j  prianic  Age."     The  "  Fundamental  ( !harter  «>t  Presbj 


186  HISTORY  OF  THE 

tery"  appeared  in  1695,  and  was  written  by  Sage  in  the  house  of  his 
friend  Bishop  Christie  near  Kinross.  His  other  works  are,  "  An  Ac- 
count of  the  late  Establishment  of  Presbytery  by  the  Parliament  of 
Scotland  in  1690  ;"  "  Some  Remarks  on  a  Letter  from  a  Gentleman  in 
the  City  to  a  Minister  in  the  Country,  on  Mr  David  Williamson's  Ser- 
mon before  the  General  Assembly,"  Edinburgh,  1703  ;  "  A  Brief  Exa- 
mination of  some  things  in  Mr  Meldrum's  Sermon  preached  on  the  6th 
of  May  1703,  against  a  Toleration  to  those  of  the  Episcopal  Persua- 
sion ;"  "  The  Reasonableness  of  a  Toleration  of  those  of  the  Episcopal 
Persuasion  inquired  into  purely  on  Church  Principles,"  1704  ;  the 
"  Life  of  Gawin  Douglas,"  1710  ;  and  an  Introduction  to  the  Works  of 
Drummond  of  Hawthornden,  to  which  publication  his  friend  the  learn- 
ed Ruddiman  lent  his  assistance.  Bishop  Sage  also  wrote  the  second 
and  third  Letters  concerning  the  persecution  of  the  Episcopal  Clergy 
in  Scotland,  and  left  many  manuscripts  on  various  subjects  mentioned 
in  his  Life  by  Bishop  Gillan,  which  were  published  in  1714. 

At  the  time  of  the  consecration  of  Bishops  Sage  and  Fullarton  a  legal 
"  Toleration"  was  greatly  desired  by  the  Episcopal  clergy,  and  the 
Duke  of  Queensberry,  to  preserve  the  interest  he  had  obtained  with  sun- 
dry English  Churchmen  of  influence,  induced  the  Earl  of  Balcarras  and 
Archbishop  Paterson  to  proceed  to  London,  to  assure  them  of  his 
Grace's  inclination  to  serve  and  protect  their  Episcopal  brethren  in 
Scotland.  This  expedition  appears  to  have  dissatisfied  sundry  parties, 
for  Lockhart  of  Carnwath,  a  zealous  adherent  of  the  exiled  dynasty, 
makes  some  severe  reflections  on  the  Earl  and  the  Archbishop,  whom 
he  designates  "  two  renagadoes."  Of  the  latter,  to  whom  he  cherished 
a  private  dislike,  he  says  that  he  was  moved  "  to  embark  in  this  design, 
which,  when  he  left  Scotland,  and  even  after  he  came  to  London,  he 
kept  as  a  mighty  secret,  pretending  to  the  Cavaliers,  he  undertook  that 
long  journey  in  the  middle  of  winter,  so  dangerous  to  his  grey  hairs 
(his  own  expressions),  only  to  supplicate  Queen  Anne  to  bestow  the  va- 
cant Bishops'  rents  on  the  poor  starving  Episcopal  clergy.  Yet  when 
this  matter  was  under  the  consideration  of  Queen  Anne  and  her  servants, 
his  charitable  zeal  did  allow  him  to  accept  of  four  hundred  pounds  ster- 
ling per  annum  out  of  them,  though  there  remained  but  twelve  hundred 
pounds  after  his  four  hundred  were  deducted  (to  be  divided  among  his 
needy  brethren),  that  were  not  appropriated  to  other  uses  ;    and  his 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  187 

Lordship  was  worth  twenty  thousand  pounds  of  his  own.  This  Noble 
Lord  and  reverend  Prelate  served  the  design  they  came  for  most  reli- 
giously, and  the  latter  had  the  impudence  to  assure  Queen  Anne  that 
the  Duke  of  Queensberry  was  the  best  friend  the  Episcopal  clergy  had 
in  Scotland,  and  would  have  procured  them  a  toleration  (which  it  seems 
they  desired),  had  he  not  found  they  were  so  disaffected  to  her  interest, 
that  to  show  them  favour  would  be  to  encourage  and  enable  her  ene- 
mies ;  adding,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  '  She  might  depend  upon  the 
truth  of  this  information,  since  it  came  from  him,  who  could  be  no 
gainer,  but  on  the  contrary  was  a  great  loser  by  their  being  kept  under. ' 
This  last  part  I  had  in  half  an  hour  after  it  was  performed  from  one  who 
had  it  from  Prince  George,  who  declared  he  and  Queen  Anne  were  con- 
founded at  the  account."  This  is  a  severe  charge  against  Archbishop 
Paterson,  but  it  is  altogether  involved  with  the  Duke  of  Queensberry, 
whom  Lockhart  in  his  character  of  him  describes  as  "to  outward  ap- 
pearance, and  in  his  ordinary  conversation,  of  a  gentle  and  good  dispo- 
sition, but  inwardly  a  very  devil,  standing  at  nothing  to  advance  his  own 
interest  and  designs.  To  sum  up  all,  he  was  altogether  void  of  honour, 
loyalty,  justice,  religion,  and  generosity,  an  ungrateful  deserter  of  and 
rebel  to  his  prince,  the  ruin  and  bane  of  his  country,  and  the  aversion 
of  all  loyal  and  true  Scotsmen  !"* 

It  would  be  out  of  place  in  the  present  work  to  enter  into  an  exami- 
nation of  this  severe  character  of  the  Duke  of  Queensberry.  There 
were  then  three  great  political  parties  in  Scotland.  The  first  were  the 
H  evolution  party,  to  whom  the  Duke  of  Queensberry  belonged,  but 
though  their  proceedings  were  firm  and  consistent,  it  is  admitted  that 
none  of  their  leaders  were  much  of  principle  except  the  Earl  of  March 
mont.  This  party  were  supporters  of  the  well  known  Union — a  measure 
then  in  contemplation,  and  bitterly  opposed  by  the  Scottish  nation  at 
the  time.  But  the  Duke  of  Queensberry  was  thought  to  be  sometimes 
under  the  influence  of  the  Court,  and  the  wrath  of  the  Cavaliers  against 
him,  M  expressed  by  Lockhart  of  Carnwath,  was  generally  excited  by 
the  duplicity  of  his  Grace.  The  second  party  were  called  the  Country 
Party,  who  opposed  the  Union  chiefly  on  the  romantic  plea  of  maintain 
inLr  the  independence  of  the  Scottish  crown,  and  who  also  insisted  that 

*   Lockhart  Paper*,  vol.  i.  p.  45. 


188  HISTORY  OF  THE 

ample  satisfaction  should  be  given  for  the  injuries  which  Scotland  had 
suffered  during  the  reign  of  William  III.,  especially  for  the  failure  of 
the  celebrated  Darien  scheme,  and  for  the  atrocious  massacre  of  the 
Macdonalds  of  Glencoe.  The  third  party,  then  headed  by  the  Earl  of 
Home,  consisted  of  the  avowed  Jacobites,  and  formed  a  numerous  and 
powerful  body  in  the  Northern  and  Highland  counties.  They  often 
coalesced  with  the  Country  Party,  many  of  whom  would  have  gone  over 
to  the  Cavaliers  at  once,  but  abstained  from  openly  declaring  themselves 
from  prudential  considerations.  The  Union  with  England  was  also  op- 
posed by  other  parties  or  sections  from  various  motives.  The  more 
zealous  Presbyterians  denounced  it,  because  they  would  be  compelled  to 
acknowledge  the  English  Bishops  in  the  Acts  of  the  British  Parliament. 

By  an  act  of  the  Scottish  Parliament  in  June  1702,  Queen  Anne  was 
enabled  to  appoint  commissioners  to  treat  for  the  union  of  the  kingdoms 
of  England  and  Scotland,  and  in  September  1705  another  similar  act 
was  passed.  In  1707,  the  Union  was  carried  into  effect  amid  the  most 
riotous  opposition  of  the  Scottish  people,  who  imagined  that  their 
country  was  betrayed,  sold,  and  prostrated  by  this  important  measure, 
and  whose  constant  theme  of  complaint  for  two  succeeding  generations 
was  the  "  sorrowful  Union,"  to  which  they  ascribed  every  calamity 
which  visited  the  kingdom.  The  old  Scottish  Parliament  was  for  ever 
annihilated,  and  the  Lord  High  Commissioner  transferred  solely  to  the 
annual  General  Assembly  of  the  Kirk,  completely  divested  of  his  state 
importance.  The  Union  gave  a  security  to  the  Presbyterian  Establish- 
ment which  it  did  not  previously  possess  ;  but  it  gave  no  toleration  to 
the  Episcopal  clergy,  though  the  Government  was  now  of  milder  mood, 
and  seldom  offered  any  disturbance.  The  very  proposal  of  a  toleration 
to  the  Episcopal  Church  would  have  excited  the  fierce  opposition  of  the 
Presbyterian  ministers  to  the  Union  itself,  and  no  great  exercise  of  their 
angry  passions  was  necessary  to  agitate  an  already  irritated  populace. 

The  death  of  Bishop  Hay  in  1707,  and  of  Archbishop  Paterson  in 
1708,  reduced  the  number  of  Bishops  to  five,  viz.  Bishop  Hallyburton, 
formerly  of  Aberdeen,  Bishop  Rose  of  Edinburgh,  Bishop  Douglas,  for- 
merly of  Dunblane,  and  the  two  recently  consecrated  Bishops  Sage  and 
Fullarton.  Mr  Skinner  says  of  Bishop  Hallyburton,  that  he  had  be- 
come "  so  weak  in  his  intellectuals,  beyond  what  his  more  aged  brother 
of  Dunblane  was,  that  though  he  was  still  able  to  perform  the  office  of 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  189 

ordination  for  such  vacancies  in  his  diocese  as  applied  to  him,  it  was 
not  judged  convenient,  as  it  was  not  necessary,  to  employ  him  in  any 
business  of  importance  that  required  a  certain  degree  of  secrecy  and 
caution."*  There  were  thus  only  four  on  whom  the  care  of  the  Church 
devolved.  After  the  death  of  Archbishop  Paterson  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  hold  another  consecration.  The  Rev.  John  Falconer,  ejected 
minister  of  Carnbee  in  Fife,  and  the  Rev.  Henry  Christie,  already  men- 
tioned as  the  friend  of  Bishop  Sage,  were  selected  for  the  episcopate. 
They  were  consecrated  at  Dundee,  the  usual  residence  of  Bishop  Dou- 
glas, by  Bishops  Rose,  Douglas,  and  Sage,  on  the  28th  of  April  1709. 

Nothing  is  known  of  Bishop  Christie,  farther  than  that  he  lived 
respected  and  beloved  by  his  brethren  till  his  death  in  1718.  Of  Bishop 
Falconer  it  is  stated  by  an  undoubted  authority,  that  he  "  was  an  inti- 
mate acquaintance  and  great  favourite  of  good  Bishop  Rose,  who  pressed 
him  most  warmly,  for  the  good  of  the  Church,  to  take  the  burden  of  the 
episcopate  upon  him  in  those  times  of  trial  and  difficulty.  And  indeed 
no  man  could  have  been  fitter  for  it  in  any  condition  of  the  Church,  as, 
from  the  many  letters  which  remain  of  him,  he  appears  to  have  been 
not  only  a  man  of  great  piety  and  prudence,  but  likewise  a  consummate 
divine,  and  deeply  versed  in  the  doctrines  and  rites  of  the  Primitive 
Church,  which,  botli  by  example  and  argument,  he  studied  to  revive  and 
bring  again  into  practice  in  the  softest  and  most  inoffensive  manner  pos- 
sible." Bishop  Russell  observes — "  As  a  proof  that  this  eulogy  is  not 
unfounded,  we  are  informed  that  he  was  likewise  very  highly  esteemed 
by  the  eminently  learned  Henry  Dodwell,  with  whom  he  corresponded 
relative  to  a  book  which  he  had  intended  to  publish  against  Deists,  and 
other  such  enemies  of  Christianity.  Dodwell's  opinion  of  Falconer  may 
be  farther  collected  from  a  wish  which  he  expressed  that  the  latter  would 
execute  a  work  projected  by  himself  on  the  Law  of  Nature  and  Nations. 
I  know  not,  however,  that  the  Bishop  did  not  actually  become  an  author. 
There  is  preserved  in  manuscript  a  little  tract  written  by  him  for  the 
use  of  the  Viscountess  Kingston,  which  may  be  described  as  a  popular 
exposition  of  the  various  covenants  of  God,  and  especially  of  the  privi- 
leges, the  sanction.^,  and  the  conditions  of  the  Christian  covenant." 

•  Bkinner'i  Bcdetintioil  History  of  Scotland,  roL  ii.  p.  'i*1?. 


190  HISTOBT  OF  THE 


CHAPTER  XII. 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  LITURGY  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND  INTO  THE 
SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH — ALARM  OF  THE  PRESBYTERIANS PROSE- 
CUTIONS OF  THE  EPISCOPAL  CLERGY — ACT  OF  TOLERATION  OF  1712. 


While  the  important  measure  of  the  Union  was  in  dependence,  an  order 
was  issued  by  the  Government  to  shut  up  all  the  Episcopal  chapels  in 
Scotland.  This  was  probably  to  pacify  the  Presbyterians,  whose  Ge- 
neral Assembly  opposed  the  Union  in  a  remarkable  document  published 
by  De  Foe.  The  order,  however,  was  soon  revoked,  the  Union  was 
effected  in  defiance  of  the  most  tumultuous  opposition,  and  the  Episco- 
palians were  again  for  a  short  time  unmolested. 

Immediately  after  the  Union  the  English  Liturgy  was  adopted  in  the 
service  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  and  has  ever  since  been  the 
ritual  for  public  worship.  It  is  singular  that  the  introduction  of  the 
English  Liturgy  should  have  been  favourably  received  even  by  many 
Presbyterians.  For  this  fact  we  have  the  admission  of  their  own  gos- 
sipping  writer  Wodrow : — "  What  may  be  the  design  of  Providence," 
he  says,  "  in  suffering  innovations  and  inclinations  to  the  English  Ser- 
vice to  increase  in  several  parts  of  this  [Presbyterian]  Church  now,  more 
than  they  were  even  when  Prelacy  was  established  by  law  ?  I  desire  to 
be  sober  in  putting  meanings  upon  Providence,  but  this  may  perhaps 
be  one  design  among  others.  I  find  a  woefull  disrespect  to  the  ministry, 
and  a  disrelishing  of  Presbyterian  Government.  I  believe  Episcopacy 
without  ceremonies  would  be  fallen  in  with  totally  by  too  many."*   This 

*  Wodrow's  Analecta,  vol.  iii.  p.  218. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  191 

important  admission  is  under  date  1709,  and  is  peculiarly  valuable  as 
the  recorded  opinion  of  a  zealous  Presbyterian.  In  a  letter  to  one  of 
his  friends  the  same  year  he  says — "  Let  me  have  a  full  account  of  the 
business  of  the  building  of  the  chapel  at  Holyroodhouse  for  the  English 
Service  : "  and  again,  in  a  letter  to  Mr  Alexander  M'Cracken,  Presby- 
terian minister  at  Lisburn  in  Ireland,  in  which  he  laments  the  decay 
of  religious  feeling  among  the  people,  Wodrow  says — "  The  English  Ser- 
vice is  setting  up  very  busily  in  the  North,  at  Inverness,  Elgin,  Aber- 
deen, Montrose,  and  many  other  places,  to  the  great  grief  of  our  bre- 
thren there,  and  the  weakening,  or  rather  ruining,  our  discipline."* 

Some  curious  reaction  must  have  taken  place  in  favour  of  the  Epis- 
copal Church  at  this  period,  which  is  farther  intimated  by  Wodrow. 
Principal  Carstairs,  a  man  of  great  ability  and  worldly  wisdom,  preached 
the  sermon  at  the  opening  of  the  General  Assembly  in  April  1709. 
Wodrow  heard  this  sermon,  and  says — "  He  recommended  charity  and 
ingenuity  in  dealing  with  those  of  the  Episcopal  communion  who  did 
not  think  it  fit  to  join  with  us,  and  avoiding  harshness  and  bitterness  of 
spirit  towards  them  ;  and  told  us  that  morosity  and  disingenuity  will  no 
way  recommend  us  in  dealing  with  them  :  which  expressions  some  looked 
upon  as  what  contained  a  tacit  reflection  upon  ourselves.     He  had  cer- 
tainly a  very  neat  and  well- worded  discourse."!     Dr  Carstairs,  or  Car- 
dinal Carstairs,  as  he  was  popularly  designated,-was  a  very  distinguished 
man,  and  much  superior  to  the  ordinary  mass  of  his  party.     Although 
perhaps  the  most  efficient  enemy  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland  ever 
had,  it  is  related  of  him  that  he  continually  exercised  deeds  of  charity 
towards  her  unfortunate  clergy.     When  his  body  was  laid  in  the  grave, 
in  the  Greyfriars'  Churchyard,  Edinburgh,  in  1715,  two  persons  were 
observed  to  turn  asido  from  the  rest  of  tho  company,  burst  into  tears, 
and  lament  their  mutual  loss.     They  were  ascertained  to  be  Episcopal 
clergymen,  whoso  families  had  been  supported  a  considerable  time  by 
his  benefactions. 

In  170G  the  Rev.  Robert  Calder  published  a  short  treatise  "  On  the 
Lawfulness  and  Expediency  of  Set  Forms  of  Prayer,"  and  as  it  was 
levelled  against  the  Presbyterians,  it  gave  them  considerable  annoyance. 


•  Wodrow  Correspondence,  printed  for  tin-  Wodrow  Society  in  1842,  rol  i.  p.  30. 
f  Wodrow  ComepondenM — Letton  i«-  Mrs  Wodrow,  rol.  L  p.  2. 


192  HISTORY  OF  THE 

This  very  excellent  little  work,  however,  is  merely  general,  though  its 
author  strongly  defends  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England.  It  may 
surprise  some  that  the  Church  did  not  adopt  the  Scottish  Liturgy  pre- 
pared in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  the  introduction  of  which  in  1637 
caused  the  well-known  outrage  in  St  Giles'  church,  Edinburgh,  To 
this  it  may  be  answered  that  there  is  in  reality  little  difference  between 
that  Liturgy  and  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land ;*  and  it  was  wisely  considered  expedient  that  the  ritual  which  was 
universally  known  should  be  adopted  in  the  public  service  of  the  Church. 
The  members  of  the  Anglican  Church  when  in  Scotland  would  thus  en- 
joy the  spiritual  benefits  of  their  own  Liturgy,  and  connect  themselves 
with  a  communion  of  the  Church  Catholic,  which,  though  deprived  of 
its  temporalities,  is  pure  in  doctrine  and  apostolical  in  constitution  and 
practice.  It  tended,  moreover,  to  promote  that  connection  with  the 
Church  of  England  which  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  has  always 
preserved,  and  which  will  be  perpetual. 

The  enmity  of  the  Presbyterians  to  the  Anglican  Liturgy  is  well 
known,  though  it  must  be  admitted  that  many  of  them,  by  the  influence 
of  education,  and  by  a  candid  investigation  of  the  matter,  have  relinquish- 
ed their  prejudices,  and  admire  its  offices.  The  use  of  a  Liturgy  is 
no  essential  part  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  as  many  ignorantly  suppose, 
for  a  religious  society  may  adopt  a  set  form  of  prayer,  and  still  be  schis- 
matical.  The  Dutch  Presbyterians  have  such  set  forms,  and  the  Wes- 
leyan  and  Calvinistic  Methodists   in  England  use  the  Morning  and 

*  As  the  Presbyterians  persist  in  designating  the  Scottish  Liturgy  by  the  term 
Popish,  and  most  absurdly  maintain  that  it  was  the  compilation  of  Archbishop  Laud^ 
the  perusal  of  L'Estrange's  "  Alliance  of  Divine  Offices,"  folio,  1659,  will  at  once 
show  wherein  the  Scottish  Liturgy  agrees,  and  wherein  it  differs,  from  the  Liturgy 
of  the  Church  of  England,  particularly  pages  65,  66,  68,  70,  85,  86,  89,  92, 93,  107, 
109,  110,  162,  164—169,  195,  201—209,  303.  Collier,  in  his  Ecclesiastical  His- 
tory, enumerates  all  the  differences  between  the  Scottish  and  English  Liturgies,  and 
gives  an  account  of  the  manner  in  which  the  former  was  framed ;  vol.  ii.  p.  767 — 
769,  compared  with  Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans,  vol.  ii.  p.  208,  209.  We  have 
the  recorded  opinion  of  Bishop  Horsley  respecting  the  Scottish  or  King  Charles' 
Liturgy  that  it  is  an  admirable  compendium,  in  his  opinion  even  superior  to  the  Eng- 
lish ;  and  he  declares  that  if  it  was  in  his  power  he  would  give  it  the  preference.  See 
also  u  The  late  Scottish  Service-Book,  with  all  the  Variations,  and  upon  them  all 
Annotations,  vindicating  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  from  the  main  Objections  of 
its  Enemies,"  published  at  London  in  1669. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  193 

Evening  Service  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  in  whole  or  in  part, 
at  their  public  devotions,  but  that  does  not  alter  the  position  in  which 
they  choose  to  place  themselves  as  schismatics.  An  extemporaneous 
prayer  must  of  necessity  be  a  form,  as  much  as  is  the  Liturgy  of  the 
Church.  The  person  who  utters  it  has  either  composed  it,  or  he  has 
acquired  the  habit  of  indulging  a  certain  commonplace  phraseology. 
The  psalms  and  hymns  which  the  Presbyterians  and  sectaries  sing  in 
their  public  worship  are  forms  of  prayer,  especially  the  Psalms  of  David  ; 
but,  to  be  consistent,  instead  of  adopting  always  the  same  psalms,  as  they 
object  to  the  same  prayers  in  the  Church,  they  should  have  new  psalms 
and  hymns  for  every  act  of  public  worship.  The  apostolical  benedic- 
tion, which  they  also  use,  is  a  form,  and  sitting  at  the  communion  is  as 
much  a  form  as  kneeling.  The  Presbyterian  mode  of  worship  is  as  much 
a  form  as  is  the  liturgical,  and  no  argument  can  be  urged  against  the  one 
which  cannot  be  as  effectually  brought  against  the  other. 

At  the  period  referred  to  after  the  Union,  many  copies  of  the  Book 
of  Common  Prayer  were  gratuitously  sent  into  Scotland  by  pious  per- 
sons in  England.  But  it  must  not  be  inferred  that  the  English  Liturgy 
was  previously  unknown.  It  was  in  the  possession  of  hundreds  of  the 
parochial  incumbents  before  the  Revolution  was  even  anticipated,  and 
had  been  publicly  adopted  in  divine  service  at  various  places  with  the 
cordial  approbation  of  the  people.  The  almost  general  adoption  of  the 
National  Anglican  Liturgy  by  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  excited 
the  fiercest  opposition  of  the  Presbyterian  Establishment.  It  was  de- 
nounced in  their  General  Assembly,  and  the  Government  was  peremp- 
torily called  upon  to  interfere.  In  1708  seventeen  Episcopal  clergymen  in 
the  city  of  Edinburgh  were  prosecuted  by  the  magistrates  for  officiating 
in  "  meeting-houses,"  and  expressly  prohibited  from  "  keeping"  any 
such  "  within  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  Canongate,  Leith,  and  the  suburbs 
and  liberties  thereof,  and  from  preaching,  or  exercising  any  part  of  the 
ministerial  function  within  the  same  in  all  time  coming,  under  the 
pain  of  imprisonment,  and  to  find  caution  to  that  effect."  Among 
those  clergymen  we  find  the  names  of  the  Bev.  Andrew  Cant,  the  Rev. 
David  Freebairn,  and  the  Rev.  David  Rankine,  afterwards  Bishops. 
One  of  them,  the  Rev.  George  Graham,  was  ordered  to  bo  imprisoned 
in  the  common  jail,  until  "  the  Lords  of  her  Majesty'i  Privj  Council 
should  inflict  on  him  such  farther  punishment  as  the?  should  think 


194  HISTORY  OF  THE 

meet,"  simply  because  in  the  Liturgy  he  "  passed  over  and  omitted*' 
the  Queen's  name.  The  Episcopal  clergy  throughout  Scotland  were  at 
this  period  greatly  annoyed  by  a  regular  system  of  espionage  encouraged 
by  their  enemies.  An  account  of  this  prosecution,  or  rather  persecu- 
tion, was  published  by  those  clergymen  in  "  A  Narrative  of  the  late 
Treatment  of  the  Episcopal  Ministers  within  the  City  of  Edinburgh 
since  March  »1 708,  until  their  Imprisonment  in  July  thereafter,  with 
their  Circumstances  and  Defences,  together  with  some  Reflections  upon 
the  same."*  A  Reply  appeared,  in  the  form  of  "  The  Scots  Narrative 
examined,  or  the  Case  of  the  Episcopal  Ministers  in  Scotland  stated," 
which,  from  the  style,  and  its  publication  in  London,  was  probably  writ- 
ten by  Ridpath.  Its  object  is  to  defend  the  magistrates  of  Edinburgh, 
whose  conduct  is  described  "in  all  the  parts  of  it  to  be  merciful  and 
charitable." 

De  Foe  gives  his  distorted  account  of  the  matter,  which  is  too  im- 
portant to  be  overlooked,  t  It  appears  that  five  of  the  Episcopal  clergy 
of  Edinburgh  were  sent  to  the  jail  by  the  magistrates,  when  the  order 
was  issued  for  shutting  up  the  "  meeting-houses"  in  that  city,  during 
the  excitement  occasioned  by  the  Union.  They  were  soon  released,  but 
instead  of  their  imprisonment  having  the  desired  effect,  it  only  tended 
to  render  them  more  determined  in  what  they  considered  their  religious 
and  political  duty.  De  Foe  has  the  boldness  to  assert  that  the  Episco- 
pal clergy  courted  persecution,  and  finding  their  "  refusing  the  oaths, 
and  to  pray  for  the  Queen,  nay,  actually  praying  for  the  Pretender, 
would  not  provoke  the  Government  and  the  magistrates  in  Scotland  to 
persecute,  they  find  out  another  expedient  which  they  are  assured  will 
not  fail,  being  what  they  know  the  Scots  will  not  bear,  whatever  it  cost 
them,  and  this  was  erecting  the  Common  Prayer,  or  English  Liturgy, 
in  Scotland."  He  then  proceeds  to  state  the  manner  in  which  the  in- 
troduction of  the  Liturgy  was  managed,  and  discovers  that  those  con- 
cerned in  it  "  had  other  aims  than  merely  the  liberty  of  their  con- 
sciences and  the  worshipping  of  God." — "  But  the  design  being  con- 


*  London,  printed  and  sold  by  John  Morphew,  near  Stationers'  Hall,  1708.  This 
pamphlet,  which  is  eloquently  written,  extends  to  forty  quarto  pages,  closely  printed, 
and  charges  the  Presbyterian  authorities  as  the  originators  of  the  prosecution. 

f  Preface  to  the  History  of  the  Union,  by  Daniel  De  Foe,  4to.  1776,  p.  19,  et  seq. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  195 

certed,  they  found  a  tool.  A  poor  curate  of  L.15  a  year  in  Ireland,  but 
born  in  Scotland,  comes  over  to  Edinburgh  to  mend  his  commons,  and 
having  taken  the  oath  he  falls  in  with  this  party,  who,  finding  him  a  per- 
son of  prostituted  morals,  a  large  stock  in  the  face,  and  ready,  if  well  paid, 
to  do  their  work,  they  promise  him  fourscore  pounds  a  year,  and  ac- 
'cordingly  begin  a  subscription  for  it.  Some  English  gentlemen  had,  it 
seems,  promised  him  encouragement  towards  that  sum  to  be  raised, 
and  this  they  make  a  handle  of  presently,  and  reported  that  this  was 
set  up  to  accommodate  the  English  strangers  who  could  not  conform  to 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  But  the  English  gentlemen  seeing  into  the 
design,  and  that  they  were  likely  to  be  made  a  property  to  embroil  the 
Government,  and  foment  a  division  between  the  two  lately  united  na- 
tions, soon  abandoned  him  and  his  design.  However,  he  resolved  to 
put  his  project  into  execution,  and  accordingly  takes  a  house  just  at  the 
Cross  of  Edinburgh,  and  begins  to  read  the  English  Service.  The 
people,  as  every  body  knew  they  would,  immediately  took  fire  at  the 
thing,  but  not  doing  him  the  honour  to  rabble  him,  which  seemed  to  be 
what  his  party  expected,  they  complain  to  the  magistrates.  The  per- 
son that  had  let  him  the  house,  finding  what  use  he  was  putting  it  to, 
began  with  him,  and,  on  pretence  of  his  having  made  some  spoil  in  pull- 
ing down  partitions,  &c.  not  authorised  by  his  contract,  gets  him  turn- 
ed out  of  the  house,  and  so  he  betakes  himself  to  a  place  less  public,  but 
still  goes  on  with  his  Service-Book  worship.  It  gave  less  offence  there, 
the  other  seeming  to  be  a  defiance  of  the  laws.  It  happened  at  this 
time,  or  in  a  few  days  after,  that  the  Commission  of  the  General  As- 
sembly was  to  meet,  and  as  soon  as  they  sat  down  a  representation  is 
made  to  them  by  the  inhabitants  of  Edinburgh  and  other  places  against 
this  tiling.  The  paper  mentions  other  complaints  indeed,  but  this  was 
the  main  thing  aimed  at." 

From  this  most  erroneous  statement  the  reader  will  easily  form  an  idea 
of  the  annoyances  to  which  the  Episcopalians  were  subjected  by  the 
Presbyterian  Establishment.  But  to  show  how  De  Foo  lias  completely 
perverted  the  circumstances  he  relates,  the  following  is  an  account  of 
this  transaction  from  a  Presbyterian  writer,*  who  has  candour  to  ac- 
knowledge the  bigotry  of  his  party. 

*  The  History  of  Great  Britain  during  tin*  Reign  of  <iu.cn  Anne,  bj  Thomas 
Sommerrille,  D.D.  Minister  of  Jedburgh,  4to,  London,  1 7-»8- 


196  HISTOKY  OF  THE 

The  case  of  the  "  poor  curate  of  L.15  a  year,"  which  De  Foe  notices, 
is  that  of  the  Rev.  Mr  Greenshields.     He  had  been  ordained  by  the 
Bishop  of  Ross,  and  afterwards  held  a  curacy  in  Ireland  in  the  Archi- 
episcopal  diocese  of  Armagh.     He  came  to   Edinburgh,  officiated  in 
the  manner  stated,  and  he  was  in  consequence  cited  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Edinburgh  to  appear  before  them,  and  give  an  account  of  his  licence 
and  authority  to  exercise  ministerial  functions.     Mr  Greenshields  very 
properly  declined  their  jurisdiction,  and  they  prohibited  him  from  per- 
forming any  clerical  duty  within  their  bounds,  with  what  is  called,  in 
Scottish  legal  phraseology,  certification  that  if  he  transgressed,  he  should 
be  imprisoned,  and  suffer  such  other  punishment  as  they  might  think  pro- 
per to  inflict.     The  magistrates  of  Edinburgh  were  ordered  to  enforce 
this  sentence.     It  was  founded,  says  Dr  Sommerville,  "  upon  these  two 
arguments  :  1.  That  he  exercised  the  ministry  within  the  bounds  of  the 
Presbytery  without  their  allowance,  and  was  an  intruder.     2.  That  he 
introduced  a  form  of  worship  contrary  to  the  purity  and  uniformity  of 
the  church  established  by  law."* 

Mr  Greenshields  was  summoned  by  the  magistrates  of  Edinburgh  to 
appear  before  them,  and  as  he  still  persisted  in  refusing  to  submit  to  the 
sentence  of  the  Presbytery,  he  was  sent  to  prison,  where  he  lay  several 
months.  He  applied  to  the  Court  of  Session  for  liberation,  but  was  re- 
fused on  the  ground  of  the  first  argument,  namely,  that  no  minister  or- 
dained by  an  exauctorate,  namely,  by  a  bishop  deprived  of  authority, 
has  ordination  according  to  the  law  which  established  Presbyterianism. 
At  length,  on  the  15th  of  September  1709,  this  persecuted  clergyman 
was  released  by  order  of  the  House  of  Lords.  "  Though  this,"  says 
Dr  Sommerville,  "  was  agreeable  to  every  principle  of  liberality  and 
justice,  yet  it  gave  great  offence  to  the  clergy  and  members  of  the  Establish- 
ment, who  complained  of  it  as  injurious  to  the  purity  of  religion,  and 
contrary  to  the  existing  laws." 

As  early  as  1703,  on  the  30th  of  January,  a  riot  took  place  at  Glas- 
gow, in  consequence  of  the  Rev.  Mr  Burgess,  who  had  taken  the  oaths 
to  Government,  performing  divine  service  according  to  the  form  of  the 
Church  of  England.  The  mob,  according  to  the  statement  in  the  letter 
of  the  Lord  Chancellor  of  Scotland  dated  8th  March,  forced  open  the 

*  History  of  the  Reign  of  Queen  Anne,  p.  469. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  197 

doors,  broke  the  windows,  and  if  the  magistrates  had  not  interposed, 
would  have  committed  personal  violence  on  the  principal  members  of 
the  congregation.     In  opposition  to  the  arguments  and  statements  of 
De  Foe,  Dr  Sommerville  represents  the  conduct  of  the  Scottish  Episco- 
pal Church  in  a  manner  honourable  to  his  candour.     "  About  the  be- 
ginning," he  says,  "  of  the  present  reign  [Queen  Anne],  a  great  change 
of  sentiment  began  to  operate  upon  the  Scottish  Episcopalians.     It  was 
natural  for  them,  in  their  depressed  condition,  to  cherish  the  idea  of  a 
relation  to  that  religious  community  in  the  neighbouring  nation  which, 
under  the  sanction  of  law,  enjoyed  a  constitution  and  polity  consonant 
to  their  own  principles,  and  this  propensity  paved  the  way  for  a  nearer 
conformity,  by  adopting  the  English  modes   of  worship.     It  was  also 
reasonable  to  conclude,  that  as  the  sovereign  was  herself  a  member  of 
that  Church,  and  zealous  for  its  interest,  so,  by  accepting  and  using  the 
Liturgy,  they  were  likely  to  stand  on  fairer  ground  for  obtaining  her 
protection,  when  she  had  a  safe  opportunity  of  bestowing  it.     The  same 
idea  of  the  importance  of  a  general  uniformity  in  worship  and  govern- 
ment was  fondly  cherished  by  some  dignitaries  of  the  English  Church, 
who  recommended  contributions  to  purchase  copies  of  the  Common  Prayer 
Book  for  the  use  of  the  Scottish  Episcopalians.     A  few  of  the  clergy 
of  that  description,  who  had  been  ordained  by  the  English  bishops,  and 
who   officiated  in  the  episcopal  congregations  in  Scotland,  read  the 
prayers  of  the  English  Church,  though  only  in  more  private  meetings, 
and  occasionally,  because  it  was  disliked  by  the  generality  of  their  ad- 
herents,  and  exposed  the  worshippers  to  the  double  danger  of  legal 
penalties  and  the  fury  of  a  bigoted  mob."     The  latter  are  the  true  rea- 
sons.    The  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England  was  not  disliked  by  the 
Scottish  Episcopalians,  with  the  exception,  probably,  of  a  few  opinion- 
ative   individuals,   and  the  fact  is  proved  by  its  general  adoption  by 
the  congregations  of  the  Church.      Dr  Sommerville  proceeds  to  ac- 
count for  the  change  in  his  own  way  : — "  A  variety  of  circumstances  con- 
tributed to  forward  the  proselytism  of  the  Scottish  Episcopalians  to  the 
English  forms  of  worship,  and  to  encourage  them  to  make  ;i  more  open 
;iv(iw:il  (.fit.     The  Queen  had  often  expressed  her  solicitude  t«»  obtain 
indulgence  from  the  ecclesiastical  courts  in  behalf  of  such  of  the  super- 
seded olergj  a-  were  weD  affected  to  the  Government,  and  esteemed  for 


198  HISTORY  OF  THE 

their  moderation  and  prudence.*  The  enthusiasm  kindled  in  England 
bj  the  affair  of  Dr  Sachaverell  was  conveyed  beyond  the  Tweed,  and 
raised  a  congenial  spirit  in  those  of  similar  principles  in  Scotland.  The 
disgrace  of  the  Whig  ministers  who  had  patronised  the  Presbyterians, 
and  the  exemplary  zeal  of  their  successors,  allured  the  attachment  of 
the  Scottish  Episcopalians,  in  whose  behalf  it  was  exercised,  and  of 
whose  rising  prosperity  they  themselves  participated." 

But  as  the  case  of  Mr  G-reenshields  illustrates,  in  a  remarkable  man- 
ner, the  state  of  the  times  in  reference  to  the  animus  evinced  by  the 
Presbyterian  Establishment  towards  the  Episcopal  Church,  the  follow- 
ing cavalier  account  of  it  is  worthy  of  notice  as  expressing  the  sentiments 
of  the  other  party  : 

"  This  gentleman  was  the  son  of  a  Scots  Episcopal  minister,  who, 
being  rabbled  out  of  his  church  at  the  Revolution,  and  being  afterwards 
in  Ireland,  educated  this  his  son  in  the  study  of  divinity  ;  and  he  being 
admitted  into  holy  orders  by  one  of  the  Scots  Bishops,  after  he  had  served 
a  cure  some  years  in  Ireland,  at  Edinburgh  set  up  a  meeting-house, 
where  he  used  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England,  which  at  that  time 
was  not  practised  in  the  other  Episcopal  meeting-houses  there.  The 
godly,  having  their  friends  then  at  the  helm  of  affairs,  resolved  to  crush 
this  enterprise  in  the  bud,  and  for  that  end  prevailed  with  the  magi- 
strates of  Edinburgh  to  shut  up  the  door  of  the  meeting-house,  and  im- 
prison Mr  Greenshields.  He  having  applied  for  the  benefits  of  the 
habeas  corpus  law,  and  being  refused  the  same,  unless  he  found  bail 
never  to  exercise  any  part  of  his  ministerial  office  in  that  city,  his  next 
recourse  was  to  the  Lords  of  Session,  before  whom  he  brought  an  action 
of  wrongous  imprisonment  against  the  magistrates,  but  their  sentence 
being  affirmed  by  that  Court,  he  then  appealed  to  the  Queen  and  Par- 
liament ;  and  beiDg  released  when  the  magistrates  were  weary  of  keep- 
ing him  so  long  in  prison,  he  made  haste  to  London  to  prosecute  his  ap- 

*  "  You  are  to  prevent,  as  much  as  possible,  the  turning  out  of  their  churches  such 
of  the  Episcopal  ministry  as  are  qualified  conform  to  act  of  Parliament.  You  are  to 
encourage  any  inclinations  you  find  in  the  Assembly  to  assume  such  of  the  ministry 
who  preach  under  Bishops,  and  are  qualified  by  law,"  &c.  Instructions  to  the  Earl 
of  Glasgow,  Commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  Ken- 
sington, 22d  March  1708,  MSS.  State  Paper  Office,  cited  by  Dr  Sommerville,  in  his 
Reign  of  Queen  Anne,  p.  468. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  199 

peal ;  but  the  House  of  Lords  being  then  wholly  taken  up  with  Dr  Sach- 
averell's  impeachment,  did  this  session  only  receive  his  petition  and 
lodge  his  appeal.  Next  year,  when  the  old  Ministry  was  discarded,  and  the 
face  of  affairs  changed,  the  Tories  thought  it  a  reasonable  opportunity 
to  push  Mr  Greenshields'  affair,  and  have  his  appeal  discussed.  The 
Ministry  at  the  time  did  all  that  in  them  lay  to  have  this  affair  put  off, 
on  the  old  pretence  of  waiting  till  a  more  proper  season,  and  most  of  the 
Scots  Peers,  except  the  Earl  of  Eglinton,  and  Lord  Balmerino,  joined 
with  them.  But  those  two  Lords,  seconded  by  the  Commons,  buoyed 
up  Mr  Greenshields,  and  prevailed  with  him  to  stand  his  ground,  and 
not  yield  in  an  affair  which  might  be  of  so  much  use  to  those  of  his  pro- 
fession. 

"  Some  little  time  after  this  Mr  Harley,  not  being  then  advanced  to  the 
Peerage,  took  me  one  day  aside  out  of  the  House  of  Commons  into  the 
Speaker's  chamber,  and  calling  upon  Mr  Secretary  St  John,  Sir  Thomas 
Hamner,  and  two  or  three  more  to  come  alongst,  he  addressed  himself 
to  me  in  words  to  this  purpose — that  he  was  much  surprised  and  very 
sorry  to  hear  that  I  and  others  of  my  country  were  so  violent  in  push- 
ing Mr  Greenshields'  appeal,  which  could  not  fail  to  be  attended  with 
bad  consequences,  as  the  Church  party  in  England  would  take  it  ill  if 
he  was  not  protected,  and  the  Scots  Presbyterians  would  highly  resent 
any  favour  he  met  with,  and  therefore  he  had  called  these  gentlemen  to 
be  present,  that  they  might  join  with  him  in  desiring  it  might  be  dropt 
till  a  more  proper  season.  I  answered,  that  I  could  assure  him  we  were 
much  mistaken  if  any  bad  consequences  happened  from  supporting  Mr 
Greenshields  in  his  just  plea,  for  the  contrary  was  designed  by  those 
who  pushed  it : — that  the  Scots  Presbyterians  were  as  much  exasperat- 
ed already  as  they  could  be,  and  had  neither  ability  nor  courage  to  give 
any  disturbance,  for  their  interest  in  the  country  was  very  small,  as 
sufficiently  appeared  from  the  great  majority  of  Tories  in  this  Parlia- 
ment, which  he  knew  was  not  owing  to  any  assistance  they  got  from  the 
Court,  but  arose  wholly  from  the  inclinations  of  the  people  : — that  as  for 
himself,  he  had  no  reason  to  show  them  any  favour,  for  they  preached 
aii< I  prayed  against  him  nominat'un,  giving  him  over  to  the  gallows  and 
the  devil  from  their  pulpits,  and  I  was  confident,  at  least  hopeful,  ho 
would  never  give  them  reason  to  have  a  better  opinion  of  him  : — that 
there  WM  DO  time  to  be  lost,  for  we  were  rather  worse  than  better  rince 


200  HISTORY  OF  THE 

the  change  of  the  Ministry,  as  the  Lord  Grange,*  brother  to  the  Earl  of 
Mar,  who  was  lately  made  Justice-Clerk,  seemed  more  violent  than  his 
predecessor  against  the  Episcopal  clergy  :— that  the  Ministry  never  had 
nor  could  have  so  fair  an  opportunity  to  relieve  the  Episcopal  party, 
without  any  apparent  danger  or  inconvenience,  if  they  thought  it  worth 
their  pains  to  truckle  under  and  would  be  amused  with  imaginary  fears 
of  the  Presbyterians,  for  Mr  Greenshields  had  lodged  his  petition,  and 
expected  justice  even  during  the  late  Administration,  and  the  discuss- 
ing of  this  appeal  could  not  properly  be  an  act  and  deed  of  the  Ministry, 
seeing  they  could  not  hinder  any  man  from  demanding  justice  in  a  legal 
way  ;  and  if  this  did  not  satisfy  him,  he  was  at  liberty  from  me  to  let 
the  Presbyterians  know  we  insisted  much  against  his  will.      As  for  the 
season,  I  was  no  politician,  but  I  always  believed  no  season  improper 
for  doing  good,  and  whatever  others  might  do  I  would  regulate  my 
measures  accordingly ;  and  I  did  not  make  the  least  question  but  the 
clergy  and  laity  of  the  Church  of  England  would  think  themselves  bound 
to  assist  their  Scots  brethren,  who  were  persecuted  for  no  other  reason 
than  being  of  their  communion.     Having  thus  spoke  my  mind  very 
freely,   the  other  gentlemen  who  were  present  instead  of  condemning 
approved  my  resolution,  and  promised  to  contribute  all  they  could  to 
brino-  this  affair  to  a  right  issue  ;  whereupon  Mr  Harley  slipt  off  not 
very  well  pleased,  and  much  disappointed. 

"  In  the  mean  time,  the  Scots  Commons  exerted  themselves  with  the 
utmost  rigour,  supplied  Mr  Greenshields  with  money  to  defray  the  charge 

*  This  unprincipled  zealot,  for  such  he  was,  was  a  son  of  Charles  tenth  Earl  of 
Mar  by  his  Countess,  the  eldest  daughter  of  George  second  Earl  of  Panmure,  and  was 
next  brother  of  John  eleventh  Earl  of  Mar,  who  led  the  Enterprise  of  1715.  He 
was  elevated  to  the  Bench  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  Scotland  in  1706,  and  took  his 
seat  in  March  1707  by  the  title  of  Lord  Grange.  In  1710  he  was  appointed  Lord 
Justice  Clerk,  and  subsequently  entered  keenly  into  the  politics  of  the  times.  He 
married  Rachel,  sister  of  Major  Chiesley  of  Dairy,  whom  he  treated  with  the  utmost 
cruelty,  while  he  preserved  his  reputation  in  the  "  Kirk"  of  being  a  godly  "  profes- 
sor" of  religion.  He  caused  her  to  be  kidnapped  and  confined  in  the  Island  of  St 
Kilda,  among  the  remote  Hebrides,  and  a  curious  account  of  this  infamous  transac- 
tion is  inserted  in  the  Edinburgh  Magazine  for  1817.  Lord  Grange  subsequently 
became  intimate  with  Wodrow,  and  his  letters  to  him  are  preserved  in  the  Advocates' 
Library,  Edinburgh.  His  Lordship  is  severely  assailed  in  some  satirical  verses,  in 
which  the  notorious  Colonel  Charteris  is  said  to  be  "in  villany  outshined  by  hypo- 
crite Lord  Grange." — Argyll  Papers,  4to,  1836,  p.  166. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUKCH.  201 

of  his  process,  and  encouraged  him  not  to  submit  or  yield  on  account 
of  the  money  that  was  offered,  and  the  promises  of  more  money  and 
preferment  in  case  he  would  drop  his  appeal.  And  when  the  day  pre- 
fixed for  discussing  the  appeal  drew  near,  they  divided  themselves  into 
several  classes,  to  each  of  which  was  assigned  a  certain  number  of  Eng- 
lish Lords,  on  whom  they  waited,  and  gave  a  true  and  clear  representa- 
tion of  the  case,  which  had  so  much  weight,  and  produced  such  good  ef- 
fects, that  the  underhand  dealings  of  the  Ministry  were  entirely  baffled  ; 
for  the  appeal  was  heard,  the  sentence  of  the  Lords  of  Session  reversed, 
and  the  city  of  Edinburgh  ordered  to  pay  swinging  costs  to  Mr  Green- 
shields,  to  which  the  Ministry  themselves  were  obliged  to  give  their  ap- 
probation, not  daring  to  expose  their  reputations  by  appearing  openly 
against  an  affair  of  this  nature  and  consequence."* 

It  is  admitted  by  Presbyterian  writers  that  the  conduct  of  their  party, 
as  the  legal  establishment,  to  their  ejected  opponents  was  malevolent 
and  annoying.  Their  sermons  abounded  with  tirades  against  what  they 
called  Prelacy,  and  the  lower  orders  were  seriously  taught  to  believe 
that  there  was  no  difference  between  the  Church  and  the  Romanists. 
That  they  were  bitter  enemies  to  toleration  is  evident  from  an  address 
of  certain  persons  in  the  city  of  Edinburgh  to  the  Commission  of  the 
General  Assembly,  the  statements  in  which  form  a  striking  contrast  to 
present  circumstances.  "  To  our  very  great  surprise,"  they  allege, 
"several  of  the  Episcopal  clergy,  prompted  and  instigatedby  the  Jacobite 
party,  who  are  equally  disaffected  to  the  civil  as  to  the  ecclesiastical 
constitution,  have  of  late  not  only  erected  meeting-houses  in  this  city 
after  the  Scots  Episcopal  way,  but  also  in  several  places  here  have  set 
up  the  English  Service,  which,  as  it  is  contrary  to  our  Establishment, 
and  very  grievous  and  offensive  to  us,  and  all  others  who  are  well  affected 
to  her  Majesty  and  the  present  Establishment,  so  it  will  prove  of  fatal 
and  dangerous  consequence  to  tho  church  if  not  speedily  remedied." 
De  Foe  publishes  this  address,  and  says  that  it  was  signed  "  in  less 
than  three  hours  by  between  two  and  three  hundred  people."  The 
wonder  is  that  it  did  not  receive  as  many  thousands  of  signatures,  and 
i-  a  proof  of  tlif  feelings  of  tho  intelligent  portion  of  the  community. 
It  it  eurious  to  observe  that  the  Presbyterians  seriously  believed  the 

*  The  Lockhmrl  Papers,  pmbtfcbed  from  tha  original  MSS.  in  1 1 1  ♦■  p"  m  --i-n  «>r 
Anthony  Aufrere,  E  >\  of  Boveton,  Norfolk,  4to,  I8l7j  fol   i.  p.  845,  840. 


202  HISTORY  OF  THE 

introduction,  or  ''setting  up,"  of  the  Anglican  Liturgy  in  Scotland 
would  destroy  their  Establishment.  In  1711  was  published  "  The  Scots 
Representations  to  Her  Majesty  against  setting  up  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  in  Scotland ;"  and,  according  to  a  manuscript  note  on  the  copy 
in  the  Library  of  the  Faculty  of  Advocates  at  Edinburgh,  it  was  the 
production  of  Ridpath  "  and  his  associates,  Mr  William  Carstairs,  men- 
tioned in  the  History  of  the  Rye-House  Plot,  and  Daniel  De  Foe." 
As  to  De  Foe,  who  wrote  much  about  Scottish  ecclesiastical  and  politi- 
cal affairs,  his  principles  are  completely  ascertained  from  a  question 
which  he  proposes  in  his  work  on  the  Union — "  Whether  Episcopal  de- 
posed clergy  have  a  right  to  ordain  ministers  ?"  He  answers  thus  : — 
"  Indeed,  the  question  seems  rather  to  be  here,  whether  such  preachers 
as  shall  be  licensed  or  ordained  by  the  exauctorate  Bishops  ought  to  be 
esteemed  as  ministers,  especially  in  that  Church  which  has  deposed 
them."  The  malignity  or  ignorance  of  De  Foe  is  here  perceptible. 
The  "  exauctorate  Bishops"  of  Scotland  were  never  deposed  by  the 
Presbyterians  ;  they  were  ejected  from  their  temporalities  by  the  Re- 
volution Government,  and  supplanted  by  the  present  Establishment, 
which  certainly  succeeded  in  expelling  many  of  the  clergy  from  their 
parishes,  but  instead  of  any  attempt  at  deposition,  numbers  of  the  Epis- 
copal incumbents  kept  possession  of  their  benefices  during  life,  and  those 
who  conformed  by  taking  the  oaths  to  Government,  and  acknowledging 
the  Presbyterian  polity,  were  received  with  open  arms. 

In  a  pamphlet  entitled,  "  A  Short  Account  of  the  Grievances  of  the 
Episcopal  Clergy  in  Scotland,"  published  at  London  in  1712,  the  author, 
after  narrating  a  number  of  cases  of  severe  oppressions  inflicted  on  the 
Episcopal  clergy,  thus  proceeds  : — "  Another  instance  is  in  the  case  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Old  Aberdeen.  These  people,  being  desirous  to  wor- 
ship God  according  to  the  form  of  the  Church  of  England,  called  for 
that  end  an  Episcopal  minister  who  had  given  early  proofs  of  his  affec- 
tion to  the  Government,  and  the  better  to  secure  themselves  sent  up 
a  loyal  address  to  the  Queen,  craving  her  protection  in  the  peaceable 
exercise  of  their  religion,  which  she  was  graciously  pleased  to  assure 
them  of  in  a  letter  written  by  the  Earl  of  Cromarty,  then  Secretary 
of  State.  But  my  Lord  S.  [Sunderland],  late  Secretary  of  State  to 
Her  Majesty,  to  shoiv  his  zeal  against  the  spreading  of  the  English  Ser- 
vice, wrote  to  Sir  David  Dalrymple,  her  Majesty's  Advocate  in  Scotland, 


SCOTTISH  ETISCOPAL  CHURCH.  203 

to  suppress  their  meeting-house  ;  and  accordingly  an  order  was  sent  by 
the  said  Advocate  to  suppress  it ;  and  having  given  an  account  of  his 
diligence  to  the  said  Earl,  had  in  return  a  very  obliging  letter,  the 
tenor  whereof  follows  : — '  I  have  laid  before  the  Queen  the  order  you 
have  given  for  shutting  up  the  chapel  at  Aberdeen,  with  which  her 
Majesty  is  very  well  pleased,  and  orders  me  to  tell  you  that  you  cannot 
do  her  more  acceptable  service  than  to  discourage  such  innovations 
every  where.'  Thus  the  word  innovation  had  its  rise,  and  is  still  in  use 
in  all  our  Presbyterian  judicatories  to  express  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church 
of  England." 

The  Lord  Advocate's  exploit  in  shutting  up  the  chapel  at  Aberdeen, 
and  endeavouring  to  prohibit  the  use  of  the  Liturgy,  was  not  allowed  to 
pass  unnoticed.     A  petition  from  the  "  gentlemen  and  other  inhabitants 
of  Old  Aberdeen  "  was  transmitted  to  the  Queen,  requesting  her  Ma- 
jesty to  put  a  stop  to  the  prosecutions  to  which  they  had  been  subjected. 
They  stated  that — "  Notwithstanding  the  repeated  assurances  we  have 
got  of  your  Majesty's  protection  in  the  exercise  of  our  religion,  yet  to 
our  great  surprise  an  order  is  lately  come  from  your  Majesty's  Advo- 
cate in  NorthJBritainJto  shut  up  our  chapel,  for  no  other  reason,  what- 
ever may  be  pretended,  but  because  we  make  use  of  the  Liturgy  of  the 
Church  of  England.     Were  we  guilty  of  any  invasion  upon  the  rights 
of  the  Established  Church,  or  were  there  any  standing  law  in  North 
Britain  against  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England,  we  would  not 
claim  your  Majesty's  protection,  but  seeing  neither  of  these  can  be 
justly  alleged,  we  are  assured  your  Majesty  will  not  suffer  us  to  be  op- 
pressed, merely  for  serving  God  after  your  own  way.     We  never  doubt- 
ed  but,  seeing  we  could  not  in  conscience  join  with  tho  [Presbyterian] 
(  hurch  which,  by  the  Treaty  of  Union,  is  established  in  North  Britain, 
it  would  give  least  offence  to  use  that  form  of  worship  which  by  the 
same  treaty  is  established  in  South  Britain.     But  we  find  it  far  other- 
wise, for  t Ik. ugh  the  French  Liturgy  has  been  these  many  years  publicly 
read  in  the  College  Ball  at  Hdinburgh,  and  though  the  Quakers  have  a 
meeting-house  near  by  us,  and  all  sectaries  are  undisturbed  in  their 
way  throughout  this  and  your  other  dominions,  yet  no  sooner  iW>  any 
one  own  himself  a  ion  of  the  Church  «»i"  England  hut  forthwith  the  013 
[graj  qs1  him.  and  he  is  charged  with  the  most  horrid  innova- 

tions that  ever  crepl  into  the  church  <-f  < ; '►•!. " 


204  HISTORY  OF  THE 

The  author  of  this  interesting  pamphlet  observes—"  I  could  by  many 
other  instances  besides  this  convince  the  true  sons  of  the  Church  of 
England,  that  the  prosecutions  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  in  Scotland  were 
not  founded  upon  the  account  of  their  disaffection  to  the  civil  govern- 
ment, as  is  falsely  given  out  by  their  enemies,  and  too  easily  believed 
by  their  friends  in  England,  but  for  their  steady  adherence  to  Episcopacy, 
and  their  affection  to  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England'1 

It  was  the  constant  recurrence  of  those  prosecutions  which  induced  the 
Government,  in  1712,  to  pass  the  well  known  Toleration  Act,  respecting 
the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church.     Soon  after  the  Queen's  accession,  the 
Earl  of  Strathmore  had  proposed  in  the  Scottish  Parliament  an  act 
for  the  toleration  of  all  "  Protestants"  in  the  exercise  of  their  religious 
worship,  with  the  evident  purpose  of  obtaining  relief  to  the  Episcopal 
Church,  of  which  his  Lordship  was  a  member  ;  but  the  General  Assem- 
bly remonstrated  against  it  in  such  a  violent  manner,  that  it  was  deemed 
prudent  to  abandon  it  for  a  time.     By  the  United  Parliament  that  re- 
lief was  given  to  the  Scottish  Episcopalians  which  was  denied  to  them 
by  their  own  Parliament  before  the  Union.     On  the  3d  of  March  1712, 
the  famous  Toleration  Act  was  passed,  to  "prevent  the  disturbing  those 
of  the  Episcopal  communion  in  that  part  of  Great  Britain  called  Scot- 
land, in  the  exercise  of  their  religious  worship,  and  in  the  use  of  the  Li- 
turgy of  the  Church  of  England,  and  for  repealing  the  act  passed  in  the 
Parliament  of  Scotland,  entitled,  An  Act  against  irregular  Baptisms 
and  Marriages."      This  act  declared  it  lawful  for  all  of  the  Episcopal 
communion  in  Scotland  to  assemble  for  divine  service  in  any  town  or 
place,  except  the  parish  churches,  to  be  performed  by  clergymen  ordain- 
ed by  a  Protestant  Bishop,  and,  if  they  shall  think  fit,  to  use  the  Li- 
turgy of  the  Church  of  England.     It  is  declared  free  and  lawful  for  such 
Episcopal  ministers  not  only  to  pray  and  preach  in  those  congregations, 
but  likewise  to  administer  baptism  and  to  celebrate  marriages,  without 
incurring  any  pains  or  penalties,  notwithstanding  any  law  or  statute  to 
the  contrary.     All  sheriffs  and  magistrates  were  strictly  enjoined  to  give 
all  manner  of  protection  to  such  Episcopal  ministers  and  their  congre- 
gations, and  not  to  disturb  or  hinder  them,  under  a  penalty  of  L.100 
sterling  for  each  offence  ;  but  every  such  Episcopal  minister  was  re- 
quired, before  he  could  enjoy  the  benefits  of  this  act,  to  produce  his  let- 
ters of  orders  before  the  justices  of  the  peace  at  their  general  or  quarter 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  205 

sessions,  to  be  entered  on  record  by  the  clerk,  and  to  take  and  subscribe 
the  Oaths  of  Allegiance,  Assurance,  and  Abjuration  ;  and  that  every 
time  he  officiates  in  his  place  of  worship  so  protected  he  shall  pray  in 
express  words  for  her  "  most  sacred  Majesty  Queen  Anne,  the  most  ex- 
cellent Princess  Sophia,  and  the  rest  of  the  Royal  Family,  under  the 
penalty  of  L.20  sterling  for  the  first  offence,  and  for  the  second  of  for- 
feiting the  benefit  of  this  act,  and  being  declared  incapable  of  officiating 
as  pastor  of  any  Episcopal  congregation  during  the  space  of  three  years  ; 
provided  always  that  no  minister  offending  herein  shall  suffer  such 
penalties,  or  either  of  them,  unless  he  be  prosecuted  for  the  same  within 
two  months  after  the  offence  is  committed." 

In  the  House  of  Commons  only  seventeen  opposed  the  passing  of  this 
act,  of  whom  fourteen  were  Scottish  members  ;  in  the  House  of  Lords 
it  was  opposed  by  some  of  the  Bishops  on  certain  points,  but  it  was 
carried  with  a  few  amendments,  which,  however,  were  rejected  by  the 
Commons.      The  Presbyterians  were  then  in  the  utmost  alarm  at  the 
"setting  up  "  of  the  English  Liturgy  in  Scotland,  and  the  Commission 
of  the  General  Assembly  transmitted  a  strong  representation  of  what 
they  called  their  "  case'"  to  the  Queen,  at  the  same  time  petitioning  the 
House  of  Lords  for  permission  to  state  their  objections  to  the  bill. 
"  The  stress  of  the  argument,"  says  Dr  Sommerville,   "  in  this  repre- 
sentation was  laid  upon  the  several  acts  establishing  the  Presbyterian 
government,  doctrine,  and  discipline,*  and  the  confirmation  given  to 
these  by  the  Act  of  Security,  which  was  incorporated  with  the  Treaty  of 
Union.     It  complained  also  of  the  injury  that  would  arise  to  the  Esta- 
blishment by  exempting  Dissenters  from  the  censure  and  penalties  of  the 
ecclesiastical  judicatories.     It  was  farther  urged  by  the  counsel  for  the 
Commission,  that  this  act  would  be  productive  of  the  most  dangerous 
consequences  to   tho  '  Protestant'  interest  in  general,  because,  under 
colour  of  the  toleration  granted  to  Episcopal  ministers,  Popish  priests 
might  perform  the  Romish  service  with  impunity,  "t 

The  present  state  of  Scotland  proves  the  fallacy  of  these  objections. 
The  Toleration  Act  of  Queen  Anne,  essentially  an  important  boon  to 
the  Church  at  the  time,  is  now  a  dead  letter.    It  has  been  even  stated  in 


*   The  acts  passed  in  1G90,  1693,  1095,  and  1702. 
f   History  of  tin  Reign  of  Queen  Anne,  p,  470. 


200  HISTORY  OF  THE 

the  Presbyterian  General  Assembly  that  the  towers  of  Episcopacy  are 
rising  in  all  directions  in  the  large  cities  and  towns  of  Scotland,  and 
Romish  priests  not  only  perform  their  "  service  with  impunity,"  but 
they  publicly  advertise  their  pontifical  masses  and  other  ceremonials  un- 
disturbed ;  nay,  celebrating  funereal  rites  at  the  demise  of  the  Popes. 
The  allusion  to  "  Popery"  in  the  remonstrance  of  the  Presbyterian 
Commission  was  entirely  unnecessary,  because  the  toleration  was  ex- 
pressly limited  to  such  persons  as  had  received  ordination  from  a  "  Pro- 
testant Bishop,"  and  who  would  subscribe  the  Oaths  of  Allegiance  and 
Abjuration.  The  real  origin  of  their  opposition  was  the  fact,  that  by  the 
Toleration  their  "  judicatories"  would  no  longer  be  able  to  harass  the 
laity  by  their  censures.    This  seems  to  be  admitted  by  Wodrow,  who  in 
a  letter  to  one  of  his  friends  thus  writes  :— "  There  are  lamentable  re- 
presentations of  the  effects  of  Toleration  in  the  North.     The  Episcopal 
party  meet  in  Session  and  Presbytery,  and  license  young  men,  and  mar 
all  discipline,  by  taking  off  persons  from  their  appearance  before  [Pres- 
byterian] ministers,  and  passing  them  at  their  meetings  very  overly."* 
The  Presbyterian  historian  of  the  Reign  of  Queen  Anne  candidly  ac- 
knowledges the  unfair  conduct  of  his  party.     "  The  legal  toleration  of 
Episcopacy  in  Scotland,"  says  Dr  Sommerville,  "  though  it  restrained 
acts  of  violence,  rather  tended  to  inflame  than  to  extinguish  that  spirit 
of  rancour  and  persecution  which  the  Presbyterians  had  too  long  indulged 
against  the  Protestants  who  differed  from  them.     The  [Presbyterian] 
clergy,  dreading  the  progress  of  Episcopacy,  from  the  patronage  of  the 
Court,  and  the  openness  with  which  it  was  now  professed  in  every  part 
of  the  country,  nourished  the  deluded  zeal  of  their  hearers  by  declaim- 
ing against  the  heresies  of  that  sect,  and  recommending  the  peculiari- 
ties of  their  own  Establishment,  rather  than  the  simple  and  practical 
truths  of  the  gospel."     If  Dr  Sommerville  had  been  a  member  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  he  could  scarcely  have  expressed  himself  in  stronger 

language. 

Some  curious  particulars  respecting  the  Toleration  are  recorded  by 
Mr  Lockhart  of  Carnwath,  to  whom  the  reader  is  referred.!  The  lead- 
ers of  the  Presbyterian  Establishment  were  farther  annoyed  by  a  rumour 

*  Wodrow  Correspondence,  vol.  i.  p.  455.  t  Lockhart  Papers, 

vol.  i.  p.  375,  385. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  207 

that  the  Queen  intended  to  bestow  the  deprived  Bishops'  rents  to  sup- 
port such  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  as  conformed  to  the  new  act.*     Al- 
though this  was  never  done,  it  appears  that  in  1714  such  a  measure  was 
in  contemplation,  which  was  probably  frustrated  by  the  death  of  the 
Queen.     Mr  Lockhart  informs  us,  that  he  and  his  friends  were  assured 
by  several  influential  persons  connected  with  the  House  of  Commons, 
that  "  the  Queen  was  sincere  and  hearty  in  the  measure,  looking  upon 
the  application  of  these  revenues  to  other  uses,  as  nothing  less  than 
sacrilege."    This  gentleman,  who  had  long  prepared  such  a  bill,  but  who 
had  not  pressed  it  on  account  of  political  quarrels  and  discussions,  was 
with  great  difficulty  persuaded  to  take  it  under  his  charge,  having  re- 
ceived a  pledge  that  all  former  differences  should  be  forgotten,  and  he 
actually  moved  and  got  leave  to  bring  in  the  bill ;  but  the  Ministry  were 
either  insincere,  or  the  former  political  animosities  were  revived,  in 
which  the  Earl  of  Mar  acted  with  great  duplicity.     "  What  moved  his 
Lordship,  the  Lord  Bolingbroke,  and  other  gentlemen,  to  act  after  such 
a  manner,  is  not  easy  to  account  for."    After  assigning  various  reasons, 
Mr  Lockhart  observes — "  And  as  some  or  rather  most  of  the  Ministry 
were  so  much  afraid  of  doing  any  act  and  deed,  by  which  they  might 
demonstrate  their  being  what  they  at  other  times  affected  to  be  thought, 
and  I  believe  really  were,  friends  to  the  Episcopal  and  Jacobite  interest, 
they  had  not  courage  and  resolution  to  undertake,  at  least  persevere, 
in  prosecuting  such  measures  ;  being  so  desirous  and  accustomed  to  keep 
on  the  mask,  it  was  become  habitual  to  them,  and  as  part  of  their  natu- 
ral bodies  ;  and  thence  I  presume  it  was  that  some  alarmed  the  Queen 
with  dismal  stories  concerning  the  consequences  of  this  bill,  and  others, 
whose  office  it  was  and  interest,  did  not  undeceive  her  by  setting  matters 
in  a  true  light  before  her."     It  appears,  however,  that  a  few  weeks  after 
this  affair,  tho  Ministry,  of  their  own  accord,  "  moved  for,  brought  in, 
and  carried  through  the  House  of  Commons  a  bill  to  appoint  commis 

*  "  It's  talked  our  Jurant  tolerated  curates  at  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh  arc  to 
have  some  of  the  Bishops'  stipend!  given  them.  You  know  the  Principal  of  Glasgow 
College  is  gone  to  Court,  to  get  the  College  tack  of  the  Bishop  of  Glasgow  renewed, 
ami  expecta  to  gel  Ufl  re  [nest,  hut  I  yet  can  scarcely  believe  he  will  succeed.  Out 
divisions  and  flames  in  this  country  are  no  way  decreasing." — •Wodron  Correspond- 
ence, Letter  to  Mr  John  M'liridc,  Minister  at  Belfast,  December  4,  1718,  vol.  i.  p. 
526 


208  HISTORY  OF  THE 

sioners  to  inquire  into,  and  report  to  the  next  Session,  the  state  of  the 
Scots  Bishops'  revenues  ;  but  when  it  was  carried  up  to  the  House  of 
Lords  it  stuck  so  long,  that  the  Parliament  was  prorogued  before  it 
made  any  advance  in  that  House,  and  so  came  to  nothing."* 

Mr  Lockhart  has  preserved  the  short  speech  he  delivered  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  on  the  motion  which  he  introduced  of  conferring  all  the 
Bishops'  revenues  in  Scotland  seized  by  the  Crown  at  the  Revolu- 
tion : — "I  stand  up  on  behalf  of  a  very  learned  and  unfortunate  set  of 
men,  the  Episcopal  clergy  of  Scotland.  I  will  not  take  up  your  time 
by  enumerating  the  many  hardships  these  gentlemen  have  been  exposed 
to  for  the  sake  of  conscience,  but  I  must  take  notice  that  many  of  them 
were  turned  out  of  their  livings  by  no  better  authority  than  that  of  the 
mob,  and  that  when  the  Parliament  of  Scotland  came  afterwards  to  abo- 
lish Episcopacy  and  settle  Presbytery,  so  short  a  time  was  allowed  for 
performing  the  terms  on  which  the  remaining  Episcopal  clergy  were 
permitted  to  continue  in  their  livings,  that  many  were  not  apprised 
thereof  till  the  time  was  elapsed,  by  which  means,  and  the  subsequent 
rigorous  proceedings  of  the  Kirk  judicatories,  both  the  laity  and  clergy 
of  the  Episcopal  Communion  were  reduced  to  very  hard  circumstances. 
The  laity  had  not  an  opportunity  to  worship  God,  and  receive  the  holy 
sacraments  after  the  manner  and  from  the  hands  they  approved  of.  The 
clergymen  in  holy  orders,  and  dedicated  to  the  service  of  God,  could 
not  approach  and  have  access  to  the  altar  ;  and,  to  the  perpetual  scan- 
dal of  the  reformed  religion,  were  sent  in  a  starving  condition  to  beg 
their  bread  throughout  the  world,  being  destitute  of  all  means  to  sup- 
port their  indigent  numerous  families,  and  were  frequently  rabbled,  im- 
prisoned, fined,  or  banished,  for  no  other  reason  than  performing  divine 
service  in  a  few  private  meeting-houses.  And  though  I  may  venture  to 
affirm  that  no  clergymen  were  ever  treated  after  so  barbarous  a  manner, 
in  this  deplorable  condition  did  the  Scots  Episcopal  clergy  continue, 
from  the  time  that  King  William  came  over  to  secure  our  religion  and 
liberties,  till  they  got  some  relief  from  the  Act  of  Toleration  which  pass- 
ed about  two  years  ago.  This  Act  has  been  attended  with  none  of  the 
dreadful  consequences  we  were  threatened  with  by  those  who  opposed  it  ; 
but  its  good  effects  have  so  well  answered  gentlemen's  hopes  and  designs, 

*  Lockhart  Papers,  vol.  i.  p.  452. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  209 

that  it  has  given  general  satisfaction,  and  great  numbers  of  all  ranks 
and  qualities  have  complied  with  and  declared  for  the  Liturgy  of  the 
Church  of  England.  So  that  nothing  seems  wanting  to  fix  and  esta- 
blish the  same,  but  a  fund  for  giving  a  reasonable  allowance  to  such  of 
the  Episcopal  clergy  as  comply  with  the  terms  and  claim  the  benefit  of 
the  Toleration  Act;  and  there  being  now  no  [Established]  Bishops  in 
Scotland,  their  revenues  seem  a  proper  fund,  and  much  better  bestowed 
after  this  manner,  than  in  grants  to  the  laity  and  Presbyterian  clergy, 
both  of  which,  being  diametrically  opposed  to  the  intention  of  these 
pious  foundations,  I  take  both,  at  least  without  all  controversy  the  first, 
to  be  nothing  less  than  a  sacrilegious  misapplication  ;  and  the  Presby" 
terian  clergy,  being  still  allowed  to  enjoy  the  benefices  appointed  by  law 
for  their  predecessors  of  the  Episcopal  Communion,  may  be  well  satis- 
fied therewith,  and  have  no  ground  to  repine  at  what  is  done  for  the 
other."* 

The  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Establishment  were  compelled  to 
Bubmit  to  acts  passed  in  the  Session  of  1712,  which  more  immediately 
affected  themselves.  A  clause  in  the  Act  of  Toleration  rendered  it  ne- 
cessary that  they  also  should  take  the  Oaths  of  Allegiance  and  Abjuration, 
which  gave  great  offence.  The  famous  act  was  passed  rescinding  that 
of  1G(<)0,  and  "restoring  the  patrons  to  their  ancient  rights  of  present- 
ing ministers  to  the  churches  vacant  in  that  part  of  Great  Britain  call- 
ed Scotland."  This  levelled  at  their  claims  of  spiritual  independence, 
which  they  had  often  asserted  in  the  strongest  manner. 

The  despondency  and  the  mutual  quarrels  of  the  Presbyterians  at 
this  period  are  fully  doled  forth  in  a  letter  from  Wodrow  to  the  well 
known  Dr  Cotton  Mather  in  America: — "  Upon  the  late  change  of  Mi- 
nistry we  had  a  very  unfavourable  change  in  our  Parliament  men  from 
Scotland,  many  of  whom,  with  the  Highflyers  in  England,  arc  catching 
at  every  thing  whereby  they  may  encroach  upon  this  [  Presbyterian  | 
church.  We  have  a  boundless  toleration  put  upon  us,  to  the  great 
strengthening  of  the  French  and  Jacobite  interest  here  ;  and  the  Eng- 
lish Sendee  lb  Betting  up  in  all  corners  of  the  church;  Pelagian  and 
Popish  doctrines  arc  vented  by  the  protected  part/,  and  Bhipwreck  made 
et  the  faith  of  many.     The  Magistrate's  concurrence  in  obliging  obsti 

•   Lockharf  l\ip<  n  ,  \  ol.  i  >9,  560,  56 1 , 

o 


210  HISTORY  OF  THE 

nate  offenders  to  compear  before  our  judicatories  is  removed,  and  the 
most  vicious  persons,  when  prosecuted  for  scandals,  have  no  more  to  do 
but  tell  us  they  are  not  of  our  communion.  The  truth  has  fallen  in  our 
streets,  and  lewdness  abounds.  The  sinful  and  church-ruining  power  of 
patrons,  in  presenting  pastors  to  vacant  congregations,  is  restored,  the 
consequences  of  which  I  tremble  to  think  upon  ;  and  the  people's  char- 
ter Christ  hath  given  them,  to  elect  their  own  ministers,  is  given  up.  For 
these  things  (and  our  great  guilt  hath  procured  them),  our  eyes  run 
down  with  tears,  and  the  Comforter  is  far  away — a  sensible  restraint 
upon  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  no  wonder  ;  we  have  vexed  him,  and  much 
of  the  spirit  of  the  world,  of  fear,  of  wrath,  and  bitterness,  in  his  room. 
The  staff  of  bonds  is  sadly  broken,  and  if  mercy  prevent  not,  we  are 
like  to  bite  and  devour  one  another,  till  we  are  destroyed  one  of  another. 
The  imposing  of  the  Oath  of  Abjuration  upon  the  ministry  of  this  Church 
is  like  to  have  fatal  consequences.  We  have  different  views  of  it,  and 
many  think  it  looks  at  the  sinful  conditions  of  Government,  bound  as  a 
burden  upon  the  Protestant  succession  in  the  English  Acts,  referred  to 
in  the  oath.  And  others  take  it  to  be  a  homologation  of  something  this 
church  testified  against  as  sinful  in  the  Union  with  England,  such  as 
the  civil  places  of  churchmen,  and  the  approbation  of  the  fixing  of  the 
English  Hierarchy  there.  Other  good  and  knowing  persons  see  none 
of  these  in  the  oath,  and  have  gone  into  it.  The  anger  of  the  Lord  has 
divided  us.  About  a  third  part,  or  more,  of  us  have  refused  the  oath, 
and  so  lie  at  the  mercy  of  the  Government."* 

As  to  the  Toleration  Act  of  1712,  though  many  of  the  Episcopal  clergy 
could  not  conscientiously,  with  their  political  principles,  enjoy  its  full 
benefits,  it  protected  them  from  State  prosecutions.  The  Government 
permitted  them,  as  long  as  they  were  peaceable,  to  act  as  they  pleased  ; 
the  Liturgy  was  no  longer  the  cause  of  Presbyterian  agitation  ;  and,  on 
the  whole,  it  may  be  said  that  the  Church  enjoyed  peace  and  prosperity 
during  the  brief  remainder  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne. 

*  Wodrow's  Correspondence,  vol.  i.  p.  390,  391,  dated  Jan.  23,  1713.  The 
Presbyterians  were  divided  by  the  Abjuration  Oath,  or  rather  by  their  views  of  it,  into 
Jurants  and  Non-Jurants,  or,  as  the  latter  are  called,  Nons,  and  in  many  cases  they 
would  not  hold  ministerial  communion  with  each  other.  "Wodrow,  ut  supra,  p.  399, 
400. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  211 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


INTERNAL  AFFAIRS  OF  THE  CHURCH — DEATH  OF  QUEEN  ANNE — ACCESSION 
OF  GEORGE  I PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  AGAINST  THE  SCOT- 
TISH EPISCOPALIANS — CONSECRATIONS  OF  BISHOPS — DEATH  OF  BISHOP 
ROSE. 

Having  delineated  the  history  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  to  the 
Act  of  Toleration  in  1712,  it  is  necessary  to  glance  at  some  internal  mat- 
ters. The  due  succession  of  the  Bishops  had  been  preserved,  and  the 
adoption  of  the  English  Liturgy  was  of  the  utmost  advantage  in  pro- 
moting the  "  unity  of  spirit  and  bond  of  peace  "  in  the  celebration  of 
divine  service.  After  the  death  of  Bishop  Sage  in  1711,  the  Hon.  and 
Rev.  Archibald  Campbell  was  consecrated  at  Dundee,  on  the  25th  of  Au- 
gust 1711,  by  Bishop  Rose,  Bishop  Douglas,  and  Bishop  Falconer.  This 
gentleman  was  the  second  son  of  Lord  Neil  Campbell  by  his  first  wife, 
Lady  Vere  Ker,  third  daughter  of  William  third  Earl  of  Lothian.  Lord 
Neil  was  the  second  son  of  Archibald  eighth  Earl  and  first  Marquis  of 
Argyll,  beheaded  at  the  Cross  of  Edinburgh  for  high  treason  on  the  27th 
of  May  1GGL,  and  of  his  Countess,  Lady  Margaret  Douglas,  second 
daughter  of  William  second  Earl  of  Morton,  whose  elder  son  was  Archi- 
bald ninth  Earl  of  Argyll,  the  uncle  of  Bishop  Campbell.  Somo  no- 
tiros  are  preserved  of  the  Bishop's  early  life.  Ho  engaged  in  the  re- 
bellion attempted  by  his  uncle  and  the  Duke  of  Monmouth  in  1685,  so 
fatal  to  both  of  them,  and  he  escaped  to  Surinam  to  elude  the  vengeance 
of  the  Government.  Ili>  elder  brother,  the  Hon.  Charles  Campbell, 
who  was  also  implicated  in  that  invasion,  surrendered  himself  to  the  Earl 


212  HISTOKY  OF  THE 

of  Dunbarton,  was  tried  before  the  High  Court  of  Justiciary  at  Edin- 
burgh, and  condemned  on  his  own  confession,  but  his  sentence  of  death 
was  commuted  into  banishment,  which  was  rescinded  at  the  Revolution. 
We  are  told  that  Bishop  Campbell  "  had  been  brought  up  a  violent 
Whig,"  of  which  there  is  no  doubt  when  his  near  relationship  to  the 
Noble  Family  of  Argyll  is  taken  into  account ;  but,  says  Dr  Samuel 
Johnson,  "  he  afterwards  kept  better  company,  and  became  a  Tory." 
When  he  returned  from  Surinam,  where  he  resided  a  considerable  time, 
he  became  zealous  for  Episcopacy  and  for  monarchy ;  and  at  the  Re- 
volution not  only  adhered  to  the  ejected  Church,  but  refused  to  com- 
municate in  the  Church  of  England,  or  to  be  present  in  any  place  of  di- 
vine worship  in  which  King  William's  name  was  mentioned.  "  He  was,  I 
believe,  "continues  Dr  Johnson,  "more  than  once  apprehended  in  the  reign 
of  King  William,  and  once  at  the  accession  of  George  I.  He  was  the 
familiar  friend  of  Hickes  and  Nelson.  He  was  released  from  prison  on 
application  to  Lord  Townshend,  and  he  always  spoke  with  respect  of  his 
Lordship,  saying — '  Though  a  Whig,  he  had  humanity.'  " 

In  1712  the  Episcopal  College  consisted  of  Bishops  Rose,  Douglas, 
Fullarton,  Falconer,  Christie,  and  Campbell,  Bishop  Rose  acting  as 
Primus.  Bishop  Campbell  after  his  consecration  continued  to  reside 
chiefly  in  London,  where  he  was  of  great  service  to  the  Church  in  her 
state  of  depression  and  poverty.  At  this  period  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
clergy  were  in  the  utmost  pecuniary  distress,  and  public  collections  were 
made  for  them,  the  distribution  of  which  was  entrusted  to  a  Committee 
in  Edinburgh  under  Bishop  Rose.  As  it  is  usually  impossible  in  such 
cases  to  satisfy  every  individual,  the  Rev.  George  Barclay,  minister  of 
a  congregation  in  Skinners'  Close,  Edinburgh,  publicly  accused  the  Com- 
mittee of  partiality  in  the  distribution  of  the  money  in  a  journal  called 
the  Flying  Post.  This  elicited  a  printed  declaration,  signed  by  Bishop 
Rose,  four  of  the  clergy,  and  eight  of  the  most  influential  citizens, 
among  whom  is  Sir  Robert  Sibbald,  M.D.,  denying  the  charge  in  the 
strongest  manner.  A  pamphlet  also  appeared  on  the  subject,  entitled, 
"  A  Full  Vindication  of  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  and  the  other 
Administrators  of  the  Charities,  from  the  Calumnious  and  False  Asper- 
sions of  Mr  George  Barclay,  in  his  Defamatory  Libel  published  in  the 
Flying  Post,  No.  3181,  with  an  inhuman  as  well  as  unchristian  Design 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHU1ICH.  213 

to  hinder  the  Charity  of  good  Christians  towards  the  Relief  of  the  suffer- 
ing Episcopal  Clergy  in  Scotland."* 

In  1713,  the  Rev.  Robert  Calder,  one  of  the  reputed  compilers  of  the 
"  Scotch  Presbyterian  Eloquence,"  published  a  learned  and  curious 
periodical  work  at  Edinburgh,   in  folio,   by  the  title  of  "  Miscellany 
Numbers  relating  to  the  Controversies  about  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer,  Episcopal  Government,  the  Power  of  the  Church  in  ordaining 
Rites  and  Ceremonies,  &c,  defended  by  Scripture,  Reason,  Antiquity, 
and  the  Sentiments  of  the  most  learned   Reformers,  particularly  Mr 
John  Calvin."  Thirty  of  those  "  Miscellany  Numbers"  successively  ap- 
peared. Mr  Calder,  who  officiated  to  a  congregation  in  Toddrick's  Wynd, 
High  Street,  Edinburgh,  had  involved  himself  in  a  polemical  controversy 
with  Mr  John  Anderson,  minister  of  Dunbarton,  afterwards  of  Glasgow, 
whom  he  sarcastically  designates  "  Presbyterian  holder-forth"  there.  Mr 
Anderson  had  been  preceptor  to  the  celebrated  John  Duke  of  Argyll  and 
Greenwich,  and  was  grandfather  of  John  Anderson,  F.R.S.,  Professor 
of  Natural  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Glasgow,  the  founder  of  the 
Andersonian  Institution,  sometimes  dignified  with  the  title  of  Univer- 
sity, in  that  city.    In  1710,  some  time  after  his  settlement  as  incumbent 
of  Dunbarton,   Mr  Anderson  published  a  "  Dialogue  between  a  Curate 
and  a  Countryman  concerning  the  English  Service,  or  Common  Prayer 
Book  of  England  ;"  and  in  the  following  year  appeared  a  "  Second  Let- 
ter."    Mr  Calder,  who  lost  no  opportunity  of  replying  to  the  adversaries 
of  his  own  Church,  answered  these  productions  in  his  "  Number  Mis- 
cellanies," and  was  assailed  by  Mr  Anderson  in  a  pamphlet,  entitled, 
"  Curate  Calder  Whipt."     Much  angry  and  irritating  language  passed 
between   them.      The   last   of  Mr  Calder's   "   Miscellany  Numbers" 
is  designated  "  The  Nail  struck  to  the  Head,  or  an  Indictment  drawn 
up  against  Mr  John  Anderson,  the  Presbyterian  Incumbent  of  Dunbar- 
ton, before  all  the  Colleges  in  Britain  and  Ireland,  or  any  other  inferior 
Literary  Courts  in  city  or  country,  and  that  before  persons  of  knbwled 
conscience,  and  candour,  of  whatsoever  principle  or  party  they  are,  by 
Mr  Robert  Calder,  Minister  of  the  Gospel,  who  is  acting  and  Buffering 
for  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  in  Scotland." 

•  London,  prmted  and  aold  by  G.  Straohan,  at  the  Golden  Ball,  OTeragainsI  the 
Royal  Exchange  in  CornhilL  This'pamphlel  is  preferred  in  ■  curiotu  Folio  rohune, 
marked  M    l.  '■  In  the  \,;  Library,  Edinburgh. 


214  HISTORY  OF  THE 

So  bitter  was  the  acrimony  between  Mr  Calder  and  Mr  Anderson, 
and  so  irritating  and  personal  their  language,  that  the  following  eccen- 
tric advertisement  appeared  from  the  former,  which  is  a  curious  speci- 
men of  the  odium  theologicum  : — "  These  are  to  give  notice,  to  all  men 
of  candour  and  knowledge,  of  any  party  or  persuasion,  who  love  the 
truth,  and  hate  impudent  liars,  and  who  allow  that  all  public  impostors 
and  impudent  cheats  should  be  exposed  to  the  world,  and  be  chastised 
with  all  the  severities  that  fraudulent  villains  deserve,  that  Mr  Robert 
Calder,  minister  of  the  gospel,  for  the  present  at  Edinburgh,  has  print- 
ed a  sheet  of  paper  against  Mr  John  Anderson,  the  Presbyterian  in- 
cumbent at  Dunbarton,  who  makes  it  his  business,  by  lying,  slandering, 
and  writing  pamphlets,  to  discredit  the  Church  of  England,  its  clergy, 
and  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  also  the  Liturgical  clergy  of  Scot- 
land—that the  said  Mr  Calder  demonstrates,  from  the  pamphlets  writ- 
ten by  him  and  Mr  Anderson,  that  the  said  Mr  Anderson  is  one  of  the 
grossest  liars  that  ever  put  pen  to  paper.  And,  for  the  probation  there- 
of, Mr  Calder  invites  any  who  please  in  the  city  of  Edinburgh  to  his 
meeting-house  in  Toddrick's  Wynd,  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays,  for 
three  weeks  after  the  date  hereof,  betwixt  eleven  and  twelve  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  two  and  three  in  the  afternoon,  that  they  may  see  with  their 
eyes,  and  hear  with  their  earg,  Mr  C alder's  indictment  against  Mr  An- 
derson proven  from  the  books  cited  in  the  libel,  which,  when  proved,  is 
to  be  sent  to  all  the  Universities  in  the  three  kingdoms,  whence  we  are 
to  expect  the  censure  that  such  a  deceiver  deserves." 

The  violence  of  the  above  language  is  certainly  inexcusable,  and  Mr 
Calder  thought  it  necessary  to  apologize  in  the  Preface  to  his  "  Miscel- 
lany Numbers"  in  the  following  manner  : — "  I  am  blamed  by  some  of 
my  own  friends  for  using  invectives  against  my  adversary,  but  when 
they  read  his  answers,  and  found  that  there  were  not  six  lines  in  nine 
sheets  of  paper  without  either  railing,  scolding,  lying,  or  pedantry,  they 
told  me  he  deserved  ten  times  more  ;  but  that  satire,  personal  reflection, 
or  uncharitable  truths  should  not  proceed  to  drop  from  the  pen  of  an 
Episcopal  minister,  because  that  was  like  the  party  we  condemn  our- 
selves. I  took  very  well  with  the  reproof,  and  therefore  in  my  last 
Number  I  used  not  one  harsh  expression,  but  an  advertisement  to  all  par- 
ties to  come  to  my  meeting-house,  that  I  might  let  men  see  with  their 
eyes,  from  the  books  which  we  both  mentioned,  how  palpably  my  adver- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  215 

sary  falsified  in  the  chief  points  debated  between  us.  I  am  ready  to 
renew  the  same  challenge  in  any  place  within  the  city  of  Edinburgh. 
I  did  this  to  the  conviction  of  all  that  came  to  hear  me,  but  none  of  my 
antagonist's  party  came  to  the  place.  I  refer  it  to  the  Universities,  and 
if  they  do  not  find  him  an  impudent  liar,  I  shall  undergo  what  penance 
they  please  to  impose  upon  me." 

About  this  time  the  incumbent  of  Dunbarton  involved  himself  in  a 
controversy  with  another  individual.  A  certain  Mr  Thomas  Rhind,  who, 
it  appears,  had  been  a  Presbyterian  minister,  conscientiously  perceived  it 
his  duty  to  separate  "  from  the  Presbyterian  party,  and  to  embrace  the 
communion  of  the  Church."  This  gentleman's  conduct  is  the  more  re- 
markable, because  at  that  period  no  earthly  inducements  could  tempt 
any  man  to  come  over  to  the  "  suffering  Church,"  as  Mr  Rhind  most 
truly  calls  it,  but  conviction  and  conscience.  He  published  a  work  ex- 
planatory of  his  conduct,  entitled,  "  An  Apology  for  Mr  Thomas  Rhind, 
or  an  Account  of  the  Manner  how,  and  the  Reasons  for  which,  he  sepa- 
rated from  the  Presbyterian  Party,  and  embraced  the  Communion  of  the 
Church."*  This  work  was,  as  it  really  is,  considered  so  learned,  so  con- 
clusive, and  so  admirably  written,  that  the  Presbyterians  saw  that  it 
would  materially  injure  them  if  left  unanswered.  Accordingly,  Mr  An- 
derson appeared  as  the  champion  of  his  party  in  a  volume  entitled,  "  A 
Defence  of  the  Church  Government,  Faith,  Worship,  and  Spirit  of  the 
Presbyterians,"  the  work  by  which  he  is  best  known,  in  answer  to  a  book 
entitled,  "  An  Apology  for  Mr  Thomas  Rhind,"  Glasgow,  1714,  in  4to, 
dedicated  to  Archibald  Earl  of  Islay.  This  work  has  been  occasionally 
reprinted.  The  reply  is  completely  on  the  defensive,  and  though  it  dis- 
plays some  learning,  it  merely  brings  forward  various  propositions  and 
assertions  which  have  been  repeatedly  overturned  and  refuted.  Mr 
Rhind's  work,  on  the  other  hand,  extorted  this  opinion  of  it  even  from 
his  opponent :— "  I  hate  to  grudge,"  says  Mr  Anderson  in  his  Preface, 
"  even  an  adversary  his  due.  I  frankly  own  Mr  Rhind  has  done  ati 
well  as  the  subject  was  capable  of.  I  own  his  book  is,  of  its  bulk,  the 
most  comprehensive  in  its  subject  I  have  seen.  Some  authors  have  at- 
tacked dfl  npOD  the  head  of  government,  some  upon  our  doctrine,  BOme 
upon  our  worthip,  and  somo,  too,  though  these  not  always  exoeeaivelj 


Printed  tA  Edinburgh,  8ro.  1718- 


216  history  or  the 

qualified  either  morally  or  intellectually  for  such  an  undertaking,  upon 
our  spirit  and  practice.  But  Mr  Rhind  lias  widened  the  compass,  and 
taken  all  four  within  his  circle,  hinting  at  every  tiling  of  a  general  na- 
ture that  has  been  wont  to  be  objected  to  us  ;  and  all  this  in  so  very 
pointed  a  style,  that,  had  his  probation  been  equal,  there  had  been  an 
end  of  the  matter,  and  the  world  had  heard  its  last  of  Presbytery  for 
ever."  Mr  Anderson,  like  his  party  in  general,  was  determined  not  to 
be  convinced,  and  Mr  Rhind's  admirable  work  remains  at  the  present 
time  unanswered. 

But  other  matters  more  important  than  private  controversies  demand 
consideration.  Queen  Anne  died  on  the  1st  of  August  1714,  and  on  the 
same  day  the  Elector  of  Hanover  was  proclaimed  as  George  I.  in  the  order 
of  succession  as  the  nearest  Protestant  heir  to  the  throne  of  Great  Britain. 
A  change  of  Ministry  was  the  consequence,  and  a  proclamation  was  is- 
sued for  putting  the  laws  in  force  against  all  reputedly  disaffected  per- 
sons. The  hopes  of  the  Jacobites,  and  among  these  of  the  great  body 
of  the  Scottish  Episcopalians,  were  grievously  disappointed  at  the  sud- 
den death  of  the  Queen,  and  the  accession  of  a  prince  whom  they  con- 
sidered an  usurper.  The  precautionary  measures  which  the  new  Go- 
vernment deemed  it  necessary  to  adopt  excited  very  general  disgust, 
and  in  1715  the  well  known  Enterprise  was  attempted  by  the  Earl  of 
Mar  in  favour  of  the  Chevalier  St  Geora-e,  as  the  son  of  James  II.  was 
called,  though  he  was  usually  styled  James  VIII.  of  Scotland  by  his 
numerous  adherents. 

The  established  Presbyterians  hailed  the  accession  of  George  I.,  and 
transmitted  a  congratulatory  address  to  the  new  sovereign,  but  the  Epis- 
copal clergy  and  laity  viewed  the  accession  of  the  House  of  Hanover  in 
silence  and  sorrow,  though  not  in  despair.  The  battle  of  Sheriffmuir, 
near  Dunblane,  and  the  affair  of  Preston  in  England,  completely  decided 
the  fate  of  the  Enterprise.  The  suppression  of  the  Enterprise  was  fol- 
lowed by  several  confiscations,  attainders,  and  executions,  and  the  Che- 
valier, who  had  arrived  in  Scotland  when  it  was  too  late,  was  compelled 
to  betake  himself  to  his  exile,  without  having  in  the  slightest  degree 
done  any  service  to  his  cause. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Scottish  Episcopal  clergy  were  all  in  favour 
of  a  prince,  for  attachment  to  whose  family  the  Church  had  severely 
suffered,  and  some  of  them  were  in  the  army  of  the  Adventurers.     On 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  217 

Sunday  the  22d  of  October,  the  Rev.  Mr  Irvine,  afterwards  one  of  the 
Scottish  Bishops,  as  narrated  in  the  sequel,  who  acted  as  chaplain  to 
the  Earl  of  Carnwath,  officiated  in  the  parish  church  of  Kelso  to  the 
division  of  the  Adventurers  under  the  Viscount  of  Kenmure,  who  were 
advancing  into  England  to  effect  a  junction  with  the  English  Jacobites. 
The  discourse  abounded  with  serious  exhortations  to  the  hearers,  who 
were  composed  of  Episcopalians,  Roman  Catholics,  and  even  Presbyte- 
rians, to  be  resolute  in  the  cause  of  their  legitimate  sovereign  ;  and  it  is 
said  that  the  reverend  gentleman,  according  to  his  own  statement,  had 
preached  the  same  sermon  nearly  thirty  years  before  to  the  Viscount  of 
Dundee  and  his  army  in  the  Highlands.  "  It  was  remarked  by  a  per- 
son present,"  says  Mr  Chambers,  "  that  the  Highlanders  on  this  occasion 
behaved  with  the  utmost  decency  while  in  church,  making  the  responses 
according  to  the  rubric  with  a  degree  of  readiness,  and  also  of  solemn 
feeling,  which  might  have  ashamed  many  who  pretended  to  higher  intel- 
ligence and  breeding."  But  the  Xonjuring  clergy  who  chose  to  interest 
themselves  personally  in  the  Enterprise  attended  the  chief  division  of 
the  Adventurers  under  the  Earl  of  Mar,  who,  it  is  said,  usually  selected 
the  texts  of  Scripture  from  which  they  preached  to  their  hearers.* 

The  proceedings  of  the  Government  against  the  Episcopal  clergy  were 
vigorous,  though  these  can  hardly  be  called  severe.  On  the  12th  of 
May  171 G,  King  George  I.  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Lords  of  Justiciary  in 
Scotland,  which  is  countersigned  by  Mr  Secretary  Stanhope,  stating 
that  His  Majesty  understood  there  were  meeting-houses  in  Edinburgh, 
and  other  places  in  Scotland,  in  which  divine  service  was  performed  with- 
out praying  for  the  King  and  Royal  Family,  and  requiring  their  Lord- 
ships "  to  give  strict  orders  for  shutting  up  all  such  meeting-houses,' 
and  to  proceed  against  offenders  in  time  coming.  Their  Lordships  re- 
turned an  answer  to  Mr  Secretary  Stanhope,  stating  that  they  would 
willingly  proceed  against  rach  offenders,  but  as  to  shutting  ap  the  meet- 
ing houses,  they  said — "  We  are  humbly  of  opinion  thai  OUT  forms  do  not 
allow  such  Bummarj  procedure  till  after  trial  and  conviction  by  the  duo 
course  of  law."  It  is  said  that  those  judges  Buspected  they  were  only 
authorized  to  exact  the  penalties  prescribed  by  law,  but  not  to  shut  up 

•  Historj  ..f  tli.'  Rebellion  in  1715,  p  283,  248,  M9. 


218  HISTOKY  OF  THE 

the  meeting-houses.  At  the  same  time  their  Lordships  enjoined  the 
Crown  lawyers  to  prepare  indictments  against  all  Episcopal  ministers 
guilty  of  this  alleged  offence. 

In  consequence  of  this  the  Rev.  Daniel  Taylor  and  twenty-four  other 
Episcopal  clergymen  in  Edinburgh,  the  Rev.  Arthur  Millar,  presbyter 
in  Leith,  the  Rev.  Robert  Colt,  and  the  Rev.  James  Hunter,  Mussel- 
burgh, were  indicted  for  preaching  to  Episcopal  congregations  without 
letters  of  orders  from  a  Protestant  Bishop,  according  to  the  statute  of 
the  10th  of  Queen  Anne  in  1712,  and  for  not  praying  for  King  George 
by  name.  Defences  were  prepared,  which  were  overruled,  and  most  of 
the  accused  clergymen,  to  save  trouble  to  the  Court,  confessed  both 
charges.  The  whole  of  them,  except  one,  who  had  produced  letters  of 
orders  from  an  exauctorated  Scottish  Bishop,  were  prohibited  from  offi- 
ciating until  they  exhibited  their  letters  of  orders  in  terms  of  the  act. 
Twenty-one  of  the  accused  clergymen  were  fined  L.20  sterling  each,  one 
half  to  the  informer,  and  the  other  half  to  the  poor  of  the  parish  ;  but 
as  no  informer  applied,  the  Lord  Advocate  about  six  months  after 
prayed  the  Court  for  warrant  of  L.10  against  each  of  them,  to  be 
paid  to  his  Lordship  as  informer.  Their  Lordships  had  by  their  sentence 
commanded  all  sheriffs  and  magistrates  of  burghs  to  prevent  those  clergy- 
men from  officiating  within  their  jurisdictions,  but  it  appears  that  the  de- 
fenders soon  produced  letters  of  orders,  which  were  registered  in  terms 
of  the  act.  The  magistrates  of  Edinburgh  were  now  at  a  loss  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  they  ought  to  proceed,  more  especially  as  it  had  been 
intimated  to  them  by  the  Lord  Advocate  from  a  very  high  quarter,  that 
they  were  considered  remiss  in  executing  the  sentence  of  the  Justiciary 
judges,  and  they  now  requested  the  directions  of  the  Court.  "  Their  Lord- 
ships," says  Arnot,  ''returned  an  answer  to  the  petition  of  the  magi- 
strates, dark  and  mysterious  as  the  Sybilline  oracles,  importing  that  the 
process  was  ended,  and  that  they  could  not  alter  their  own  sentence. — 
I  apprehend  that  the  Lords  of  Justiciary  and  magistrates  of  Edinburgh 
had  reciprocally  endeavoured  to  devolve  on  each  other  the  odium  of  the 
people  for  executing  the  sentence,  or  the  indignation  of  the  prince  for  not 
executing  it.  It  appears  that  the  shutting  up  of  the  meeting-houses 
was  by  no  means  rigorously  enforced,  for  I  find  several  of  those  very 
clergymen  within  a  few  months  again  convicted  for  the  same  offence. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  219 

Indeed,  the  criminal  records  for  some  years  after  this  are  in  a  manner 
engrossed  with  prosecutions  against  Episcopal  Nonjurors."* 

After  the  suppression  of  the  Enterprise  of  1715,  a  strict  inquiry  was 
instituted  respecting  the  religious  condition  of  several  districts  by  the 
Presbyterian  Establishment.  This  was  altogether  uncalled  for  on 
their  part,  and  their  reports  were  drawn  up  with  the  evident  intention 
of  throwing  odium  on  the  Scottish  Episcopalians,  and  exciting  the  Go- 
vernment against  them.  In  the  "  Report  from  the  Commissioners  ap- 
pointed to  inquire  of  the  Estates  of  certain  Traitors,  &c.  in  that  part  of 
Great  Britain  called  Scotland,"  printed  at  Edinburgh  in  1717,  there 
are  various  instances  of  this  officiousness.  One  may  be  cited  as  a  sample 
of  the  whole.  The  Moderator  of  the  Presbytery  of  Brechin  is  pleased 
to  say,  that  "  the  people  of  this  corner"  have  been  "  hitherto  diverted 
from  the  principles  of  loyalty  by  Jacobite  factors,  curates,  and  others." 

No  alteration  appears  to  have  been  made  in  the  law  against  the  Scot- 
tish Episcopal  Church  till  1719,  when  the  Government  became  alarmed 
at  the  rumour  of,  or  attempt  at,  another  insurrection  in  behalf  of  the 
Chevalier.  In  April  1719,  an  act  was  passed  in  the  United  Parliament 
"  for  making  more  effectual  the  laws  appointing  the  oaths  for  the  secu- 
rity of  the  Government  to  be  taken  by  ministers  of  churches  and  meet- 
ing-houses in  Scotland."  This  act  rendered  every  Episcopal  clergyman 
liable  to  six  months'  imprisonment,  during  which  period  his  meeting- 
house was  to  be  shut  up,  if  he  performed  divine  service  without  having 
taken  the  oaths  required  by  the  Toleration  Act  of  Queen  Anne  ;  and 
every  house  in  which  nine  or  more  persons  were  assembled,  exclusive  of 
the  family,  at  divine  service,  was  declared  to  be  a  meeting-house  within 
the  meaning  of  the  Act. 

This  was  a  severe  law,  and  there  can  be  as  little  doubt  of  the  inten- 
tion as  of  the  quarter  in  which  it  originated.  Several  prosecutions  fol- 
lowed, but  the  act  does  not  appear  to  have  been  rigorously  enforced. 
Nor  could  the  previous  government  proceedings  against  the  Clergy  make 
the  Bishops  regardless  of  the  continuance  of  their  own  order,  and  con- 
sequently of  the  existence  of  the  Church.  The  consecration  of  the 
Hon.  ami  KYv.  Archibald  Campbell,  in  1711,  is  already  mentioned,  and 
in   171-  the  KVv.  James  Gadderar,  who  had  been  ejected  from  his 

•    \  oollection  of  Celebrated  Criminal  Trials  in  Sootland,  l>y  Hugo  Arnot,  I 
idrooate,  \\  .  p.  343-346 


220  HISTORY  OF  THE 

parish  of  Kilmaurs,  in  Ayrshire,  in  1688,  was  consecrated  at  London  by 
Bishops  Campbell,  Falconer,  and  Hickes,  the  last  named  Bishop  hav- 
ing been  the  celebrated  and  learned  Dean  of  Worcester.  We  are  told 
"that  this  step,  apparently  somewhat  out  of  the  usual  course,  was 
taken  not  only  with  the  consent  of  Bishop  Rose,  but  even  at  his  express 
desire,  and  was  consequently  approved  by  all  his  brethren  in  Scotland."* 
Bishop  Gadderar,  however,  like  his  friend  Bishop  Campbell,  resided 
chiefly  in  London  till  the  year  1 724,  and  we  must  therefore  direct  our 
attention  to  the  actual  state  of  the  Episcopate  in  Scotland.  At  the 
death  of  Bishop  Christie,  in  1718,  there  were  only  three  Prelates  in  Scot- 
land— Bishop  Rose,  and  Bishops  Fullarton  and  Falconer.  The  Bishop 
of  Edinburgh  saw  the  necessity  of  immediately  strengthening  the  suc- 
cession, while  there  was  a  sufficient  number  of  Bishops  to  constitute 
the  consecrations  regular  and  canonical.  On  the  22d  of  October 
1718,  the  Rev.  Arthur  Millar,  formerly  minister  of  Inveresk  in  the 
county  of  Edinburgh,  mentioned  among  those  prosecuted  in  1716  for 
not  praying  for  the  King,  and  the  Rev.  William  Irvine,  formerly  mini- 
ster of  Kirkmichael  in  Ayrshire,  were  consecrated  at  Edinburgh  by 
Bishop  Rose  and  the  two  Bishops. 

This  was  the  last  important  service  rendered  to  the  Church  by  the 
venerable  Bishop  Rose  of  Edinburgh.  This  sole  survivor  of  his  brethren 
ejected  at  the  Revolution — this  primitive  and  upright  Prelate,  who  had 
lived  in  strange,  exciting,  and  eventful  times,  and  had  presided  over  the 
Church  with  all  dignity,  was  soon  afterwards  gathered  to  his  fathers. 
He  died,  beloved  and  lamented,  at  the  residence  of  his  sister  in  the  Ca- 
nongate,  Edinburgh,  in  the  74th  year  of  his  age,  on  the  20th  of  March 
1720.  Bishop  Rose's  own  house  was  also  in  the  Canongate,  at  that 
time  inhabited  by  many  families  of  rank.  The  house  in  which  he  died 
is  still  pointed  out,  He  was  interred  within  the  little  church  of  Restal- 
rig,  near  the  city,  but  no  stone  intimates  the  hallowed  spot  where  he  was 
deposited.  The  edifice  was  then  roofless,  having  been  dilapidated  by 
order  of  the  General  Assembly,  after  the  Reformation,  as  a  "monument 
of  idolatry,"  but  restored  as  a  Presbyterian  place  of  worship  since  1836. 
In  the  cemetery  surrounding  the  church  of  Restalrig  many  members 
of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  were  interred  at  their  own  dying  re- 

i 

*  Bishop  Russell's  edition  of  Keith's  Catalogue,  p.  531. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUPvCH.  221 

quest  during  the  eighteenth  century.  Here  the  last  solemnities  of  re- 
ligion were  performed  without  molestation,  threats  of  persecution,  or 
the  indecent  interruptions  of  idle  and  ignorant  persons  attracted  by 
curiosity  as  spectators. 

Bishop  Keith  says  of  Bishop  Rose — "  He  was  a  sweet-natured  man, 
and  of  venerable  aspect."  His  death  was  severely  felt  by  the  Church, 
although  it  was  a  great  consolation  that  he  was  spared  to  a  good  old 
age.  Mr  Lockhart  of  Carnwath  mentions  his  loss  as  irreparable.  In  a 
letter  to  the  Chevalier,  or  the  "  King,"  as  he  terms  him,  he  says — "  You 
are  not  a  stranger  to  the  great  honour  and  reputation  the  Scots  Epis- 
copal clergy  have  justly  gained  by  their  unshaken  constancy  and  unin- 
terrupted unity,  from  the  commencement  of  their  misfortunes  to  this 
time,  and  that  the  same  may  be  in  a  great  measure  imputed  "to  the  pru- 
dent conduct  of  the  late  Bishop  of  Edinburgh."  Mr  Skinner  describes 
him  as  "a  man  of  whom  it  was  acknowledged  by  all  who  knew  him, 
that  '  for  all  the  virtues  which  adorn  the  gentleman  or  the  scholar,  the 
Christian  or  the  Bishop,  he  was  scarcely  equalled,  and  could  not  be  ex- 
celled. '  What  a  valuable  pilot  he  was,  while  he  steered  the  helm  of  our 
tossed  vessel,  was  but  too  sensibly  known  by  some  unhappy  divisions 
which  followed  soon  after  his  decease." 


222  IIISTOKT  OF  THE 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


DISSENSIONS  IN  THE  SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH — THE  USAGES — BISHOP 
GADDERAR  OP  ABERDEEN — LETTERS  TO  AND  FROM  THE  CHEVALIER — THE 
COLLEGE  PARTY NEW  CONSECRATIONS — DEATH  OF  BISHOP  FULLARTON. 

The  presbyters  elevated  to  the  Episcopate  during  the  life  of  Bishop 
Rose  were  consecrated  solely  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  succes- 
sion. No  portio  gregis  was  assigned  to  them,  and  we  have  seen  that  it 
was  expressly  stipulated  at  the  consecration  of  Bishops  Sage  and  Ful- 
larton,  that  they  were  to  exercise  no  diocesan  jurisdiction  while  the 
ejected  Bishops  were  alive.  The  authority  of  Dr  Rose,  who  as  Bishop 
of  Edinburgh  was  vicar-general  of  the  Archbishop  of  St  Andrews  during 
the  establishment  of  the  Church,  was  acknowledged  by  the  clergy  of 
that  metropolitan  province  after  the  death  of  the  Primate  Ross  ;  but, 
as  the  hope  of  the  restoration  of  the  exiled  royal  family  was  still  fondly 
indulged,  the  Bishop  was  probably  unwilling  to  interfere  with  what  he 
might  consider  unwarrantable  in  his  peculiar  circumstances.  The  same 
principles  seem  to  have  actuated  the  deprived  Bishops  in  England  com- 
monly called  the  Nonjurors,  who  refrained  from  nominating  those  whom 
they  consecrated  to  any  of  the  regular  Sees,  but  contented  themselves 
with  their  own  ecclesiastical  arrangements. 

On  the  22d  of  March  1 720,  after  the  remains  of  Bishop  Rose  had  been 
deposited  in  the  little  church  of  Restalrig,  a  meeting  of  all  the  Episco- 
pal clergy  of  Edinburgh  and  the  vicinity  was  held  in  the  afternoon,  to 
deliberate  on  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  Church.  On  this  occa- 
sion one  of  the  clergy  proposed  that  they  should  immediately  acknow- 
ledge Bishops  Fullarton,  Falconer,  Millar,  and  Irvine,  as  the  Episcopal 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  223 

College,  to  whom  as  such  canonical  obedience  was  due.  In  this  sugges- 
tion evident  injustice  was  done  to  Bishops  Campbell  and  Gadderar,  who, 
though  then  residing  in  London,  had  an  equal  right  to  be  considered 
members  of  that  College,  yet  they  were  not  even  mentioned.  The  pro- 
posal was  to  the  effect  that  instead  of  diocesan  jurisdiction — the  practice 
of  the  Church  Catholic  in  the  primitive  ages — the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church  should  be  governed  by  a  College  of  Bishops  in  common,  much 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  Presbyterians  manage  their  affairs  on  a  more 
extensive  scale  in  their  Presbyteries,  Synods,  and  General  Assemblies. 

This  extraordinary  proposal  found  adherents,  but  before  the  matter 
was  discussed,  it  was  urged  by  some  of  the  clergy  present,  that  though 
they  knew  that  the  four  right  reverend  persons  named  were  duly  invest- 
ed with  episcopal  authority,  it  was  necessary  that  their  letters  of  conse- 
cration should  be  exhibited  before  they  could  be  acknowledged  as 
Bishops.  This  was  readily  conceded  by  those  who  were  in  favour  of 
the  College  scheme,  and  they  promised  that  when  Bishop  Fullarton, 
who  happened  to  be  then  in  the  country,  returned  to  Edinburgh,  the 
instruments  of  the  respective  consecrations  would  be  produced  to  the 
clergy.  Bishop  Fullarton  came  to  Edinburgh  on  the  28th  of  March, 
and  the  clergy,  having  obtained  the  satisfaction  they  required,  imme- 
diately "honoured  Mr  John  Fullarton,  Mr  John  Falconer,  Mr  Arthur 
Millar,  and  Mr  William  Irvine,  as  Bishops  of  this  Church."  The  four 
Bishops  were  present,  and  Bishop  Falconer  intimated  that  "  though  he 
and  his  brethren  were  Bishops  intended  for  preserving  the  episcopal 
succession  in  this  Church,  yet  they  did  not  pretend  to  have  jurisdiction 
over  any  particular  place  or  district."  He  advised  the  presbyters  to  elect 
a  proper  diocesan  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  them,  and  withdrew  from 
the  meeting  with  the  other  Bishops. 

The  presbyters  adjourned  to  the  following  day,  when,  after  electing  a 
chairman,  the  question  was  immediately  discussed — "  Whether  thcv 
had  any  right  or  authority  to  elect  a  Bishop  to  reside  and  exercise  epis- 
copal functions  in  Edinburgh?"  It  was  unanimously  agreed  that  they 
had  this  right,  and  they  expressed  themselves  gratified  with  the  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  Bishops  to  that  effect  on  the  previous  day.  A 
keen  debate  next  ensued,  whether  the  nomination  of  the  Diocesan 
should  be  referred  to  the  Bishops,  No  allusion,  however,  was  made  to 
Bishops  Campbell  and  Gadderar,  who  were  alleged  to  be  lealons  adro- 


224  HISTORY  OF  THE 

vocates  of  certain  "  Usages,"  to  which  the  majority  of  the  presbyters  in 
Edinburgh  were  supposed  to  be  hostile.  It  appears  that  the  omission  of 
those  two  Bishops  was  intentional,  and  that  the  hostile  opinions  held  on 
the  subject  of  these  Usages,  which  are  subsequently  noticed,  originated 
the  proposal  to  refer  the  nomination  of  the  Diocesan  to  the  four  Bishops ; 
but  it  was  negatived  by  a  single  vote,  or  two  votes.  The  presbyters  then 
proceeded  with  the  election,  and  Bishop  Fullarton  was  chosen  to  suc- 
ceed Bishop  Rose,  and  to  act  as  Primus,  or  presiding  Bishop,  in  eccle- 
siastical Synods,  with  the  limitation  that  he  should  not  lay  claim  to 
those  vicarious  powers  which  his  predecessor  had  exercised  as  vicar-ge- 
neral in  the  Province  of  St  Andrews. 

The  account  given  by  Mr  Lockhart  of  Carnwath  of  this  transaction 
is  worthy  of  notice.  "  It  being  absolutely  necessary  that  some  one  of 
the  Bishops  should  be  appointed  to  reside  at  Edinburgh,  and  take  the 
chief  government  of  the  Church  upon  him,  there  was  some  appearance 
of  factions  and  divisions  amongst  the  Episcopal  clergy  on  this  head, 
but  Mr  Paters  on  and  I  kept  close  in  town  with  them,  and  were  at  much 
pains  to  prevail  with  them  to  take  no  resolutions  till  the  College  of 
Bishops  was  convened.  And  as  it  was  of  great  importance  that  one 
of  a  good  character  was  made  choice  of  for  this  charge,  we  earnestly  re- 
commended Bishop  Fullarton,  as  he  was  qualified  for  the  trust,  and  in 
some  respects  entitled  to  it,  being  the  senior  Bishop  of  those  now  alive. 
In  a  short  time  the  Bishops  met,  and,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  pres- 
byters of  that  diocese,  made  choice  of  him  to  be  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  ; 
and  to  encourage  him  the  more  cheerfully  to  undertake  it,  I  engaged  to 
get  a  hundred  pounds  sterling  per  annum  settled  upon  him  by  a  certain 
number  of  well-disposed  persons,  to  enable  him  to  bear  the  charge  of 
living  at  Edinburgh,  which  was  accordingly  performed." 

Mr  Lockhart  errs  in  stating  that  the  Bishops  elected  Bishop  Ful- 
larton with  the  "  concurrence  of  the  presbyters."  The  procedure  was 
the  very  reverse,  for  the  presbyters  elected,  and  the  Bishops  concurred. 
It  appears  that  the  Chevalier  St  George  was  duly  informed  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Episcopal  clergy  by  his  "  Trustees,"  and  his  concurrence 
was  considered  necessary.  Our  cavalier  statesman  always  terms  him 
King  in  his  narrative,  and  farther  writes  : — "  Though  the  King  should 
have  been  acquainted  with  this  choice,  and  his  approbation  obtained,  yet, 
because  it  was  not  advisable  to  delay  it,  lest  the  clergy  had  split  and 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  225 

divided,  it  was  thought  sufficient  that  his  Trustees  here  did  approve  of 
it.  However,  it  was  proper  to  communicate  this  step  to  the  King,  and 
to  desire  he  would  write  a  letter  to  the  clergy,  recommending  unity 
among  themselves  and  obedience  to  their  superiors,  particularly  to 
Bishop  Fullarton,  who  was  appointed  Primus  of  the  College  of  Bishops, 
as  well  as  Bishop  of  Edinburgh." 

Such  a  letter  was  written  to  the  Chevalier,  dated  25th  April  1720, 
and  is  printed  in  the  ".  Lockhart  Papers."  It  is  of  considerable  length, 
and  is  chiefly  remarkable  for  a  severe  attack  on  Bishop  Campbell.  After 
requesting  the  Chevalier  to  write  the  proposed  letter  in  favour  of  Bishop 
Fullarton  to  the  clergy,  Mr  Lockhart  says — "  If  it  is  approved  by  you, 
you  will  be  pleased  to  transmit  such  a  letter  to  me  as  soon  as  possible, 
lest  difficulties  arise  and  inconveniences  happen,  especially  seeing  we 
hear  that  Mr  Archibald  Campbell  (who,  though  adorned  with  none  of 
the  qualifications  requisite  in  a  Bishop,  and  remarkable  for  some  things 
inconsistent  with  the  character  of  a  gentleman,  was  most  imprudently 
consecrated  some  years  ago)  is  coming  here  from  London,  with  a  view 
of  forming  a  party,  and  propagating  those  doctrines  which  were  most 
unreasonably  broached  some  few  years  ago  in  England." — He  farther 
informs  the  Chevalier — "  Bishop  Fullarton  is  come  to  town  [Edin- 
burgh], and  we  think  it  will  be  necessary  that  henceforwards  he  reside 
constantly  there,  but  as  it  is  unreasonable  he  should  be  at  so  great  a 
charge  in  serving  the  public,  though  he  has  a  handsome  little  estate  of 
his  own,  a  certain  number  of  people  have  resolved  to  contribute  annually 
such  a  sum  as  will  sufficiently  enable  him  to  support  his  character,  and 
make  up  the  odds  of  his  living  retiredly  at  home  and  publicly  in  Edin- 
burgh." 

The  cause  of  the  hostility  to  Bishop  Campbell  is  subsequently  noticed. 
The  Chevalier  wrote  the  desired  letter  to  Bishop  Fullarton,  dated  Albano, 
June  12,  1720,  and  he  concludes  by  informing  the  Bishop — "  You  will 
sufficiently  find  by  this  the  confidence  and  esteem  I  have  for  you.  I  do 
n.it  fear  being  disappointed,  and  all  I  have  in  particular  to  recommend  to 
you  is  the  preaching  of  union  and  charity  both  to  clergy  and  laity,  since 
it  is  that  alone  which  can,  with  God's  blessing,  make  us  see  an  end  of  our 
misfortunes  |  both  while  these  last,  and  after  it  may  please  God  to  put 
a  period  to  them,  the  welfare  of  the  Scots  clergy  I  -hall  ever  have  al 
heart,  8    1  shall  at  nil  times  be  desirous  <>i  showing  you  the  deep  sense 


226  HISTORY  OF  THE 

I  have  of  your  personal  merit,  and  attachment  to  me  and  my  just 
cause."* 

It  is  not  stated  what  effect  this  letter  had  upon  the  clergy,  but  we 
find  the  Bishops,  a  short  time  after  the  election  of  Bishop  Fullarton 
as  Primus,  transmitting  an  address  to  the  Chevalier,  giving  him  an  ac- 
count of  their  whole  proceedings.  The  Chevalier  returned  a  compli- 
mentary answer,  dated  Rome,  July  2,  1720,  in  which  he  says — "  It  is 
a  satisfaction  to  us  to  know  that  the  Bishops  who  survived  the  unhappy 
Revolution  in  our  kingdoms  have  promoted  persons  of  your  character  to 
their  order  ;  and  since  the  circumstances  of  past  times  have  not  permit- 
ted certain  forms  to  be  observed,  we  think  it  proper  hereby  to  approve 
of  your  promotion,  in  so  far  as  our  authority  is  necessary  to  it  by  the 
laws  and  constitution  of  that  our  ancient  kingdom  ;  but  as  to  such  future 
promotions,  as  may  be  thought  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  your 
order,  we  think  it  equally  for  our  service  and  that  of  your  Church,  that, 
notwithstanding  our  present  distance  from  you,  you  should  propose  to 
us  such  persons  as  you  may  think  most  worthy  to  be  raised  to  that  dig- 
nity. We  shall,  you  may  be  assured,  have  all  possible  regard  for  your 
opinion  in  such  cases,  and  ever  be  willing  to  give  you  marks  of  our  fa- 
vour and  protection,  and  of  our  particular  esteem  for  your  persons,  "t 

It  appears  from  these  transactions  that  the  Scottish  Episcopalians, 
like  the  English  Nonjurors,  and  the  Roman  Catholic  Jacobites,  seri- 
ously indulged  the  vain  hope  of  the  restoration  of  the  exiled  prince, 
and  his  possession  of  the  throne  of  his  ancestors.  Nor  was  this  at  all  so 
improbable  an  event  as  at  this  distance  of  time  the  reader  may  imagine. 
George  I.  was  very  unpopular  with  the  nation  at  large  ;  his  undue  and 
imprudent  partiality  for  his  German  dominions,  and  his  predilection  for 
his  German  followers,  irritated  and  disgusted  many  of  his  subjects  who 
were  keen  supporters  of  the  House  of  Hanover  ;  the  parties  who  adhered 
to  the  exiled  dynasty  were  numerous,  powerful,  and  men  of  high  rank  ; 
a  host  of  the  peasantry,  and  especially  the  Highland  clans,  were  attached 
to  the  House  of  Stuart  from  ancient  associations  ;  and  the  claims  of  the 
Chevalier  were  maintained  by  some  of  the  most  powerful  continental 
sovereigns.  "  I  have  it  farther  to  remark,"  says  Wodrow,  under  date 
1727,  "  that  the  Jacobites  reckon   upon  the  bulk  of  our  nobility  and 

*  Lockliart  Papers,  vol.  ii.  p.  35,  39.  f  Ibid.  p.  42 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  227 

gentry  as  gained  to  their  interest,  and  the  truth  is,  the  generality  of  our 
nobility  and  gentry  give  too  much  occasion  to  them  to  reckon  upon 
them  ;  and  even  in  the  West  of  Scotland  how  very  few  have  we  that  in 
any  choak  can  be  trusted  to?"*  The  Chevalier's  policy,  therefore,  in 
preserving  his  influence  in  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  was  obvious. 
By  maintaining  this  connection  he  could  always  command  the  influence 
of  a  numerous  body  of  clergy  and  laity,  whom  persecution  had  attached 
more  strongly  to  his  interest. 

But  although  the  Chevalier  had  intimated  his  desire  that  the  names 
of  all  persons  proposed  to  be  consecrated  should  be  submitted  to  him 
for  his  consent  and  approval,  he  found  that  the  Bishops  and  clergy  were 
not  disposed  to  render  implicit  obedience  to  his  will.  Some  time  dur- 
ing this  year,  1720,  he  had  named  the  Rev.  David  Freebairn  to  be  con- 
secrated, and  this  nomination  they  were  disposed  to  resist.  "  I  found," 
says  Mr  Lockhart,  "  this  step  was  not  agreeable  to  and  approved  by  the 
clergy,  both  on  account  of  the  person  named  and  the  manner  of  doing 
it — that  though  he  (Mr  Freebairn)  was  not  under  any  bad  character,  they 
did  not  think  him  adorned  with  those  qualifications  of  learning,  good 
sense,  and  the  like,  so  necessary  in  one  of  that  station,  and  that  he  was 
in  no  reputation  among  his  brethren  or  the  laity  of  his  communion — 
that  as  the  King  at  the  distance  he  was,  and  from  the  little  knowledge 
and  experience  he  had  of  private  men's  character  and  circumstances, 
could  not  judge  thoroughly,  so  as  to  be  sure  of  making  a  right  choice,  it 
waa  hoped  that  before  he  proceeded  to  a  nomination  he  would  have  con- 
sulted the  Bishops — that  as  this  method  would  prevent  his  making  a 
1»;i<1  choice,  it  would  endear  him  much  to  the  clergy,  and  be  attended 
with  this  farther  benefit,  that  it  would  prevent  his  being  solicited,  and 
obliged,  perhaps,  to  give  denials  ;  for  were  it  known  that  he  made  no 
Mich  promotions  but  by  the  advice  and  approbation  of  the  Bishops,  people 
would  apply  to  them  before  they  presumed  to  teaze  him  with  solicita- 

ras.""t     It  i-  surprising,  when  we  consider  the  times,  and  the  peculiar 
circumstances  of  the  <  !hnrch,  what  could  be  the  objects  which  those  Pres- 

ten  had  in  view  who  longed  so  earnestly  for  the  episcopate,  as  this 
important  )         e  intimates.     Nothing  Bhort  of  a  positive  belief  of  the 

•  Wodrow'a  Analacta,  MS  .  Advocates'  Library. 
f  Lookbaii  Papei  'a,  rol.  ii-  p    \9,  50. 


228  HISTORY  OF  THE 

restoration  of  the  exiled  dynasty  could  have  induced  men  to  solicit  the 
unfortunate  Chevalier  for  the  only  influence  he  had  it  in  his  power  to 
exercise. 

But  although  Bishop  Fullarton  was  elected  to  the  diocesan  jurisdic- 
tion of  Edinburgh,  the  idea  of  the  government  of  the  Church  by  the 
College  of  Bishops,  instead  of  Diocesans,  was  not  abandoned.  On  the 
contrary,  it  was  attempted  by  a  party,  and  it  was  sanctioned  by  the  Che- 
valier and  some  of  his  advisers,  which  at  once  discloses  to  us  Mr  Lock- 
hart's  severe  attacks  on  Bishop  Campbell,  and  afterwards  on  Bishop 
Gadderar,  both  of  whom  were  supporters  of  diocesan  government  as  the 
only  true  and  primitive  practice,  according  to  the  eighth  canon  of  the 
first  Council  of  Nice.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  Bishops  who 
were  in  favour  of  diocesan  government  were  as  strongly  attached  to  the 
cause  of  the  Chevalier  as  the  College  party,  but  they  considered  that  in 
their  then  circumstances,  as  entirely  unconnected  with  the  State,  it 
was  the  inherent  right  of  the  clergy  to  elect  their  diocesans  to  whom 
they  were  to  render  canonical  obedience  ;  and  also  that  the  idea  of  a 
Church  governed  by  such  a  College,  the  members  of  which  might  be  in- 
creased by  intrigues  or  dissensions,  was  not  only  preposterous,  but  might 
be  attended  with  the  most  disastrous  consequences. 

Before  narrating  the  proceedings  of  the  College  Party,  it  is  necessary 
to  attend  to  the  affairs  of  the  Church  after  the  election  of  Bishop  Ful- 
larton. About  the  same  time,  in  1720,  Bishop  Falconer  received  a  letter 
from  a  great  body  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  in  the  counties  of  Forfar  and 
Kincardine,  and  also  from  the  Presbyters  of  St  Andrews  in  the  county 
of  Fife,  requesting  him  to  become  their  diocesan,  and  promising  "  to  ac- 
knowledge him  as  their  proper  Bishop,  and  to  pay  all  due  and  canonical 
obedience  to  him  as  such."  This  invitation  he  willingly  accepted,  with 
the  approbation  of  the  other  Bishops,  though  Bishop  Irvine  is  thought 
to  have  dissented  ;  and  he  continued  to  exercise  diocesan  jurisdiction 
over  them  till  his  death,  which  took  place  on  the  6th  of  July  1723,  to 
the  regret  of  all  who  knew  him,  and  to  the  great  loss  of  the  Church. 

The  clergy  of  Aberdeen,  in  imitation  of  their  brethren  in  other  dis- 
tricts, elected  Bishop  Campbell,  on  the  10th  of  May  1721,  to  be  their 
diocesan.  As  this  Bishop  does  not  appear  to  have  resided  at  Aber- 
deen, but  continued  in  London,  and  as  he  soon  resigned  inconsequence 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  229 

of  his  views  respecting  the  "  Usages"  not  being  in  accordance  with  those 
of  the  clergy,  it  is  necessary  to  take  a  brief  glance  at  the  cause  of  the 
differences  of  opinion  on  points  comparatively  unimportant. 

At  the  death  of  the  celebrated  Dr  Hickes,  already  mentioned  as  one 
of  the  Bishops  of  the  English  Nonjuring  Church,  a  controversy  arose 
about  the  nature  of  the  Eucharist,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  ought  to 
be  administered,  which  found  its  way  into  Scotland.  The  most  eminent 
and  learned  divines  of  the  Church  of  England  since  the  Reformation 
considered  the  Holy  Communion  as  a  commemorative  sacrifice  ;  others 
maintained  that  it  was  a  feast  on  the  one  sacrifice  of  Christ  once  offered 
by  himself  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world  ;  others  adopted  that  view  set 
forth  by  Bishop  Hoadley,  which  is  the  opinion  of  the  Presbyterians  in 
Scotland,  and  of  the  Dissenters  generally  both  in  that  country  and  in 
England,  that  the  Lord's  Supper  is  a  mere  commemoration  of  our  Savi- 
our's death — or  simply  a  rite,  without  any  particular  benefits  resulting 
from  it  to  the  devout  participator. 

It  would  be  out  of  place  in  the  present  work  to  enter  into  any  discus- 
sion on  these  three  different  views  of  this  important  subject,  and  as  the 
controversy  has  been  long  forgotten,  it  would  be  perhaps  imprudent  to 
revive  it,  or  to  attempt  any  analysis  of  the  arguments  urged  by  the  se- 
veral disputants.     Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  Usages  appear  to  have  been 
limited  to  four — 1.  Mixing  water  with  the  wine.     2.  Commemorating 
the  faithful  departed  in  the  Communion  Office.     3.  Consecrating  the  ele- 
ments by  an  express  invocation.     4.  Using  the  oblatory  prayer  before 
administering,  as  in  the  Office  of  the  Holy  Communion  in  the  Scottish 
Liturgy.     These  were  the  Usages  for  which  many  of  the  ejected  clergy 
of  the  Church  of  England,  who  became  connected  with  the  Nonjuring 
Church,  resolutely  contended  as  ancient  and  primitive,  and  as  having 
been  acknowledged  at  the  commencement  of  the  Reformation.     They 
farther  argued  that  they  were  now  at  liberty  to  observe  these  "  Usages," 
because  they  were  no  longer  connected  with  the  Church  of  England  as 
by  law  established,  and  therefore  not  trammelled  by  parliamentary  en- 
actments in  the  discharge  of  their  ministerial  functions.     The  contro- 
versy was  carried  OD  among  the  English   Nonjurors  with  considerable 
heal  of  argument,  and  at  the  death  of  Bishop  Hickes  in  1715,  the  I 
were  headed  by  the  celebrated  and  learned  Bishop  Collier,  supported  by 
Dr  Brett  \  while  their  opponents,  who  contended  for  the  ( WBce  as  it  is  in 


230  HISTORY  OF  THE 

the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  were  led  by  Bishop  Spincks,  formerly 
one  of  the  Prebendaries  of  Sarum,  and  Rector  of  St  Martin's  in  that 
diocese.  It  was  agreed  on  both  sides  to  consult  the  Scottish  Bishops, 
and  to  refer  the  controversy  solely  to  their  decision.  Accordingly,  a 
clergyman  named  Peck  was  sent  by  the  Usagers  into  Scotland  in  1718, 
and  applied  to  Bishops  Rose  and  Falconer  for  a  synodical  declaration, 
which  those  Bishops  refused.  At  the  same  time  they  received  letters 
from  Bishop  Spincks,  urging  them  to  decide  in  favour  of  his  party — a 
request  which  they  also  declined,  stating,  however,  that  they  were  will- 
ing to  act  as  friendly  mediators,  recommending  peace  and  forbearance 
until  the  people  were  satisfied  and  their  minds  prepared  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  Usages,  whatever  these  might  be,  of  the  Primitive  Church. 
Bishops  Rose  and  Falconer  requested  Dr  Rattray  of  Craighall  to  draw 
up  proposals  of  accommodation  for  reconciling  these  differences,  which  he 
did  in  a  paper  characterized  by  Bishop  Rose  of  Edinburgh  as  "  written 
with  much  judgment,  full  of  Christian  temper,  and  making  much  for 
peace  ;"  but  although  it  offended  neither  party,  it  met  with  the  common 
fate  of  all  such  attempts  to  reconcile  conflicting  opponents. 

In  a  letter  to  Bishop  Rose,  written  on  the  occasion  of  Mr  Peck's  ar- 
rival on  his  mission,  Bishop  Falconer  thus  gives  his  deliberate  opinion 
on  the  matter.  It  is  dated  May  15,  1718  : — "  I  have  reason  to  believe 
that  these  primitive  usages,  the  restoring  of  which  is  so  much  laboured 
by  these  pious  and  learned  persons,  were  indeed  apostolical,  they  being- 
delivered  to  us  by  men  who  contended  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints,  some  of  whom  sealed  that  faith  with  their  blood,  who  lived  near 
the  fountain  head,  who  under  God  were  the  conveyancers  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  to  posterity,  and  who  themselves  also  were  endued  with  charis- 
mata. These  qualifications  state  them  most  veracious  and  unexception- 
able witnesses ;  and  to  think  otherwise  is  in  my  opinion  to  sap  the  founda- 
tions, even  to  shake  the  credulity  of  the  blissful  Scriptures,  and  of  the 
Church,  the  ground  and  pillar  of  the  truth.  Hence  it  will  follow  that 
the  restoration  of  them  is  most  desirable,  the  rather  that  Catholic  Unity, 
which  to  preserve  when  subsisting,  and  to  restore  when  broken,  is  the 
indispensable  duty  of  every  Christian,  chiefly  of  the  governors  of  the 
Church,  cannot  be  established  but  on  this  primitive  footing."  On  the 
22d  of  May,  Bishop  Rose  writes  to  Bishop  Falconer,  probably  in 
answer  to  the  above  letter- — "  As  for  my  own  part,   seeing  so  much 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  '2ol 

stress  is  laid  upon  these  Usages,  I  am  very  desirous  of  farther  informa- 
tion, being  resolved,  God  willing,  if  I  find  them  strictly  necessary,  to 
embrace  them  with  all  the  disadvantages  that  may  attend  them.  If 
only  lawful,  some  way  useful  or  desirable,  prudence  in  such  case,  and  in 
such  cases  only,  ought  to  be  consulted." 

It  was  not  till  after  the  death  of  Bishop  Rose  that  the  controversy 
about  the  Usages  divided  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church.  Bishop  Fal- 
coner, it  is  evident,  was  in  their  favour,  as  were  also  Bishops  Campbell 
and  Gadderar,  whose  residence  in  England  had  enabled  them  to  form 
an  intimacy  with  Bishops  Hickes  and  Collier,  and  who  had  been  induced 
from  conviction  to  declare  for  the  adoption  of  the  Usages  ;  Bishops 
Fullarton  and  Millar  were  neutral,  and  Bishop  Irvine  openly  and  deter- 
minedly opposed  them.  It  seems,  when  in  London  in  1715,  he  had  be- 
come acquainted  with  Bishop  Spincks.  Having  been  satisfied  on  the 
subject,  he  somewhat  rashly  undertook  to  secure  the  Scottish  clergy  on 
the  side  of  those  who  opposed  the  Usages,  and  when  he  returned  to  Scot- 
land he  laboured  to  induce  Bishop  Rose  to  declare  against  them  ;  and 
"  though,"  says  Mr  Skinner,  "  he  failed  in  his  attempts  upon  that  wise 
and  judicious  prelate,  yet  his  assiduity  and  arguments  among  the  other 
clergy  laid  the  foundation  of  all  the  disturbance  that  appeared  about  the 
Usages  after  Bishop  Rose  died." 

Such  is  a  condensed  account  of  this  controversy,  and  the  reader  will 
now  perceive  that  two  questions  agitated  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church 
after  the  death  of  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh— whether  the  Usages  should 
be  Observed,  and  whether  the  Church  should  be  governed  by  district  Dio- 
cesans, or  by  a  common  College  of  Bishops.  On  the  latter  subject,  Bi- 
shop Fullarton  wrote  to  Bishops  Campbell  and  Gadderar  at  London, 
dated  15th  Septemfof  1720— "  I  freely  own  that  the  project  of  dividing 
the  kingdom  into  districts,  and  having  a  Bishop  to*  superintend  in  every 
district,  is  a  most  desirable  thing,  if  the  practice  were  as  easy  as  the 
theory.  But,  alas!  there  is  nono  of  us  able  to  maintain  ourselves  in 
the**  districts,  and  the  people  Will  give  little  or  nothing  to  subsist  them  ; 

liny,  the  very  presbytery  that  officiate  among  them  arc  in  great  straits.* 

•  This  rtafc  ment  of  Bishop  Fullarton  was  too  true.  The  Episcopal  olergy  at  tbii 
period  wets  In  the  greatest  pecuniary  distress,  and  suifered  most  Berate  privations. 
In  the  account  of  the  parish  of  Morham  in  Eaddiiigtofislrire,  For  example,  1  find  the 
following  among  other  extracts  from  the  recordi  of  the  Kirh-8ossion ; — "  Sept.  80, 
1722,  giren  bj  the  minister*!  order   to  an  Episcopal  minister,   L.l,   1"-.   Scots, 


232  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Dr  Falconer  will  be  very  acceptable  to  the  most  part  of  our  clergy  and 
laity  too  of  our  communion  on  the  north  side  of  the  Forth,  and  perhaps 
there  might  be  a  way  fallen  on  to  settle  him  in  some  part  of  that  country ; 
but  we  have  no  view  of  getting  any  to  settle  elsewhere,  unless  you  two 
would  come  down  and  take  two  districts." 

This  letter  discloses  at  least  one  fact,  that  Bishop  Fullarton's  great 
object,  exclusive  of  his  endeavours  to  effect  an  accommodation  of  the 
difference  existing  among  the  clergy  occasioned  by  the  Usages,  was  the 
establishment  of  a  regular  diocesan  superintendence  on  the  part  of  the 
Bishops,  and  he  appears  to  have  viewed  the  difficulties  as  great  simply 
on  account  of  the  poverty  of  the  Church,  and  the  apparent  impossibility 
of  getting  Bishops  to  reside  in  and  superintend  those  districts.  It  is 
true  some  of  his  brethren  were  in  favour  of  the  College  scheme,  but  Bi- 
shop Fullarton  evidently  did  not  view  their  opposition  as  formidable. 
Nor  does  he  allude  to  the  request  of  the  Chevalier  to  have  the  approval 
of  those  who  were  to  be  consecrated.  Bishops  Campbell  and  Gadderar 
entertained  similar  views  with  the  Primus  as  to  diocesan  jurisdiction. 
This  accounts  for  the  bitterness  with  which  both  these  Bishops  are  as- 
sailed in  the  Lockhart  Papers,  more  especially  the  former,  who  never- 
theless laid  himself  open  to  attack,  when,  notwithstanding  his  accept- 
ance of  the  diocesan  jurisdiction,  he  wished  Bishop  Gadderar  to  act  as 
his  representative  while  he  continued  to  reside  in  London — a  proposal 
which  the  clergy  very  properly  resisted.  "  The  election,''  says  Mr  Skin- 
ner, "  of  a  man  of  Bishop  Campbell's  known  principles  in  the  present 
controversy  shows  how  his  electors  stood  affected  to  the  Usages,  and  upon 
that  account  was  not  so  very  agreeable  to  the  other  Bishops,  who  gave 
but  a  conditional  and  limited  approbation  of  it.  For  which  reason,  and 
to  avoid  giving  any  unnecessary  cause  of  offence  to  his  brethren,  Bishop 
Campbell  yielded  his  right  to  Bishop  Gadderar,  who  had  been  proposed 
a  candidate  along  with  himself,  and  whom,  on  his  coming  down,  the 
clergy  of  Aberdeen  gladly  received,  with  professions  of  canonical  obe. 
dience,  and  entire  satisfaction  in  all  that  they  knew  of  his  principles." 

There  were  now  two  parties  in  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church — those 
who  were  either  favourable  to  or  neutral  respecting  the  Usages,  and  who 
were  the  supporters  of  diocesan  jurisdiction,  and  those  who  were  against 

Aug.  18,  1723,  to  an  old  distressed  Episcopal  minister,  10s.  Scots."  New  Statistical 
Account  of  Scotland,  Haddingtonshire,  p.  266. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  233 

the  Usages,  and  in  favour  of  the  College  of  Bishops  ;  the  latter,  who  were 
the  College  Party,  entirely  under  the  influence  of  those  of  the  laity  in  cor- 
respondence with  the  Chevalier.  To  prevent  a  decided  majority  of  the 
Bishops  favouring  the  Usages,  the  Rev.  Andrew  Cant,  formerly  one  of 
the  ministers  of  Edinburgh,  and  the  Rev.  David  Freebairn,  already 
mentioned,  were  consecrated  at  Edinburgh  on  the  17th  of  October  1722, 
by  Bishops  Fullarton,  Millar,  and  Irvine  ;  and  to  retain  the  majority 
they  had  now  gained  the  same  three  prelates  consecrated  other  two 
opponents  of  the  Usages  in  the  year  1724 — the  Rev.  Alexander  Duncan, 
formerly  minister  of  Kilpatrick  Easter,  and  the  Rev.  Robert  Norrie, 
presbyter  in  Dundee. 

In  the  meantime  the  conduct  of  Bishop  Gadderar,  who  was  a  decided 
and  zealous  supporter  of  the  Usages,  irritated  the  adherents  of  the  Che- 
valier, and  especially  those  Bishops  of  the  College  Party  who  opposed 
the  Usages  as  innovations.  That  Bishop  would  not  submit  to  the  Col- 
lege, and  it  was  thought  necessary  to  represent  him  to  the  Chevalier. 
On  the  21st  of  May  1723,  Mr  Lockhart  writes  to  the  exiled  prince— 
"  Since  my  last,  Gadderar  having  gone  to  the  North,  and  boldly  con- 
temned both  the  advices  and  orders  of  the  College  and  your  Trustees,  by 
openly  advancing  his  opinions,  and  practising  his  Usages,  and  having 
gained  several  of  both  clergy  and  laity  over  to  his  way  of  thinking,  is  in 
a  fair  way  of  creating  a  terrible  schism,  which  cannot  fail  in  having  dis- 
mal effects,  by  dividing  those  that  have  hitherto  lived  cordially,  and 
been  ready  to  join  hand  in  hand  for  the  service  of  the  Church  and  State.,, 
It  farther  appears  from  this  letter  to  the  Chevalier,  that  the  College  ac- 
tually intended  to  suspend  Bishop  Gadderar  and  those  of  the  clergy  who 
supported  him,  but  they  delayed,  "because  they  would  gladly  shun  pro- 
olaiming  this  unhappy  division  to  the  world,  having  at  the  same  time 
too  much  reason  to  apprehend  their  authority,  aa  matters  stand,  will 
not  meet  with  the  regard  that  is  due  to  it,"  Mr  Lockhart  then  en- 
treats the  Chevalier  to  write  a  letter  to  the  College,  approving  of  their 
conduct,  and  "  recommending  t<>  each  of  them  singly,  and  to  all  the  in- 

ior  clergy,  t<>  show  a  regard  and  give  due  obedience  to  the  authority 

■  1  direction  <>f  the  College."* 

The  toll. .v.  in-  pa        i,  written  with  much  bitterness,  discloses  the 
,-,  al  m  -  n    "t  tli.-  dislike  of  the  M  Trustees  "  of  the  Chevalier  to  Hi>hoj»s 

Lockharl  Papers,  roL  \L  p.  99,  100 


234  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Campbell  and  Gadderar.  They  saw  that  by  supporting  the  College 
Party  they  could  always  exercise  any  influence  they  pleased  over  the 
Bishops  and  clergy — that  they  could  at  any  time  make  the  former  sub- 
servient by  increasing  the  number  of  consecrations  indefinitely  at  the 
recommendation  of  the  Chevalier ;  and  this  they  actually  did  at  their 
convenience,  for  Bishops  Freebairn,  Cant,  Duncan,  and  Norrie,  were 
actually  consecrated  under  the  sanction  of  the  exiled  prince  ;  whereas 
diocesan  jurisdiction  struck  at  the  root  of  such  influence,  for  by  divid- 
ing the  country  into  certain  districts  or  dioceses,  as  in  the  time  of  the 
Establishment  of  the  Church,  order  would  be  preserved,  unnecessary 
consecrations  prevented,  and  discipline  maintained  among  the  clergy. 
"  Here  it  will  be  expedient,"  says  Mr  Lockhart,  "  to  show  Gadderar  a 
little  more  plainly  in  his  proper  colours,  by  exposing  the  title  on  which 
he  claimed  to  act  as  Bishop  of  Aberdeen.  Some  two  or  three  years 
ago  the  presbyters  in  that  diocese  applied  to  the  College  that  they  would 
appoint  a  Bishop  to  preside  over  them,  and  reside  with  them.  The 
Bishops,  fearing  they  would  choose  Dr  Gairns,  who,  having  publicly 
advanced  Madame  Borignon's  wild  doctrines,  was  by  no  means  fit  to  be 
promoted,  answered,  that  there  was  no  need  of  consecrating  a  new  Bishop 
for  that  end,  but  if  they,  the  presbyters,  would  name  any  of  the  Col- 
lege that  was  agreeable  to  them,  he  should  be  appointed  to  reside  with 
them,  if  they,  the  Bishops,  approved  of  him.  The  presbyters  accord- 
ingly met,  and  to  the  surprise  of  everybody  elected  Mr  Archibald 
Campbell.  The  College,  upon  notice  hereof,  wrote  to  Campbell,  signi- 
fying their  being  willing  to  approve  of  what  was  done,  provided  he 
would  promise  under  his  hand  to  maintain  and  propagate  no  new  doc- 
trine or  usage  not  preached  and  warranted  by  the  Canons  of  this  Church. 
To  this  Campbell  wrote  a  most  impertinent  answer,  positively  refusing  to 
give  that  satisfaction,  and  styling  Bishop  Fullarton  as  pope,  and  Millar 
and  Irvine  his  cardinals,  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  This  letter  con- 
firmed the  College  in  their  resolution  not  to  approve  of  Campbell  re- 
pairing to  Aberdeen,  and  thereof  acquainted  the  presbyters.  However 
Campbell,  slighting  the  authority  of  the  College,  reckoned  himself 
canonically  elected  by  the  presbyters  ;  and  though  he  came  not  from 
London  to  reside  among  them  personally,  he  sent  Gadderar  with  a  com- 
mission to  act  as  his  vicar.  Now,  as  this  was  all  the  right  and  title 
that  Gadderar  could  claim,  the  world  may  judge  of  him  for  accepting 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  235 

what  is  so  illegal ;  and  the  truth  of  it  is,  from  his  own  and  his  associates 
in  Scotland  and  England,  their  conduct  first  and  last  in  this  matter,  as 
they  manifested  a  base  contempt  of  the  authority  of  the  College  of  Bi- 
shops and  of  the  King's  friends,  there  is  too  much  reason  to  apprehend 
they  had  some  secret  views  and  motives  which  they  did  not  think  fit  to 
own,  or  that  they  were  stirred  up  by  some  who  at  the  bottom  had  de- 
signs prejudicial  to  the  King  and  Church." 

This  most  unwarranted  and  prejudiced  statement  is  followed  by  a 
letter  to  the  Chevalier,  dated  September  10,  1723.    It  was  written  after 
the  death  of  Bishop  Falconer,  who  died  that  year,  and  this  loss  to  the 
Church  is  noticed  in  the  most  respectful  manner.     It  seems  that  al- 
though Bishop  Falconer  had  some  time  previous  submitted  to  the  Col- 
lege, yet,  according  to  Mr  Lockhart's  suspicions,  he  was  by  no  means 
zealous  to  maintain  that  novel  scheme  of  governing  the  Church  ;  and, 
says  our  cavalier  statesman  to  the  Chevalier,   "  there  was  too  much 
reason  to  apprehend  that  he  and  Gadderar  designed  very  soon,  icithout 
asking  your  or  the  other  Bishops'  approbation,  to  have  consecrated  several 
other  Bishops,  with  a  view  of  strengthening  and  increasing  their  party."' 
After  accusing  them  of  privately  circulating  a  paper  in  which  they  re- 
monstrated against,  and  declined  the  authority  of,  the  College,  and  de- 
claring that  they  "  owed  no  subjection  to  any  other,  or  even  to  them 
all  acting  in  a  collegiate  body,"  Mr  Lockhart  proceeds  to  inform  the 
Chevalier — "  As  Falconer  was  much  respected,  or  rather  reverenced,  on 
account  of  his  learning  and  piety,  his  opinion  in  these  matters  moved 
many  to  have  a  favourable  opinion  of  them  ;  but  now  that  he  is  dead, 
we  hope  there  will  be  less  difficulty  to  keep  them  within  due  bounds. 
If  Campbell  come  down  I  believe  the  College  will  quickly  suspend  him, 
having  sufficient  grounds  to  warrant  such  a  step,  besides  his  promoting 
this  schism.     As  his  character  is  no  ways  suited  to  the  station  he  was 
advanced  to  in  the  Church,  since  Falconer's  death  the  College  think  it 
expedient  to  make  a  further  promotion  of  Bishops,  to  be  settled  in  those 
counties,  such  as  Fife,  Angus,  and  the  Mearns,  over  which  he  presided, 
and  in  such  other  places,  as  Aberdeenshire,  &c.,  where  Gadderar  applies 
himself  to  propagate  bis  Bchisna ;  at  least,  seeing  most  of  the  present 
Bishopi  are  men  of  a  great  age,  they  think  it  very  necessary  to  have 
your  allowance  and  direction  to  consecrate,  ;it  inch  timet  as  they  >hall 
Bee  cause  and  think  it  expedient,  a  certain  number  <>t'  other  persons. 


236  HISTORY  OF  THE 

The  whole  of  this  letter  shows  the  subserviency  of  the  College  Party 
to  the  Chevalier,  which  was  studiously  promoted  for  certain  purposes  by 
such  politicians  as  Mr  Lockhart  who  acted  as  the  "  King's  Trustees," 
and  managed  his  affairs  in  Scotland.     Nothing  annoyed  them  so  much 
as  diocesan  superintendence,  and  every  one  who  did  not  adopt  their 
College  scheme  was  most  unscrupulously  abused.    Bishop  Gadderar  was 
a  truly  excellent  and  pious  man  ;  and  as  for  Bishop  Campbell,  he  is  de- 
scribed by  Mr  Skinner  as  "  highly  commendable  for  his  learning  and 
other  valuable  accomplishments,  which  his  various  writings,  though  out  of 
the  common  line,  testify."*   He  is  farther  said  to  have  been  "  among  the 
first  projectors,  and,  by  his  activity  and  connections,  a  constant  pro- 
moter of  that  charitable  fund  which  was  a  great  support  to  the  poorer 
clergy  in  their  straitened  circumstances."    Bishop  Campbell  bequeathed 
to  Sion  College,  London,  the  records  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1638, 
of  which  the  Presbyterians  alleged  he  obtained  possession  in  a  very  ques- 
tionable manner.     Not  being  acquainted  with  the  circumstances,  the 
present  writer  cannot  give  any  opinion  on  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  this 
charge.     The  records  have  been  repeatedly  demanded  by  the  General 
Assembly,  but  it  seems  that  Bishop  Campbell  expressly  declared  that 
on  no  account  were  the  members  of  Sion  College  to  give  them  up  until 
the  Episcopal  Church  was  again  re-established.     Bishop  Campbell  held 
some  peculiar  theological  opinions,  but  these  did  not  affect  his  princi- 
ples as  a  Churchman.     In  his  old  age  he  performed  an  action  most  ex- 
traordinary in  its  nature,  but  with  which  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church 
had  no  concern,  as  it  was  done  in  England,  where  he  chiefly  lived  and 
died.  "  He  carried  his  singularities  to  such  a  length,"  says  Mr  Skinner, 

•  The  works  of  Bishop  Campbell  here  alluded  to  by  Mr  Skinner  are  the  follow- 
ing :_ Queries  to  the  Presbyterians  of  Scotland,  8vo,  1702.  A  Query  turned  into 
an  Argument  in  favour  of  Episcopacy,  8vo,  1703.  The  Doctrine  of  a  Middle  State 
between  Death  and  the  Resurrection,  folio,  1731.  A  Discourse  proving  that  tke 
Apostles  were  no  Enthusiasts,  8vo,  1730-  Inquiry  into  the  Orgin  of  Moral  Virtue, 
Edinburgh,  1733,  8vo.  Oratio  de  Vanitate  Luminis  Naturae,  Edinburgh,  1733, 
8vo.  Remarks  on  some  Books  published  by  him,  with  his  Explications,  &c,  Edin- 
burgh, 1736.  Remarks  on  the  Report  of  the  Committee  for  Purity  of  Doctrine, 
Edinburgh,  8vo,  1736.  The  Necessity  of  Revolution,  or  an  Ino^iry  into  the  Extent 
of  Human  Powers  with  respect  to  Matters  of  Religion,  especially  the  Being  of  God 
and  the  Immortality  of  the  Soul,  London,  8vo,  1739.  Bishop  Campbell  is  also 
stated  in  the  Bibliotheca  Britannica  to  have  written  and  published  a  Life  of  Bishop 
Sage  in  1714. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  237 

"  as  to  form  a  separate  Nonjuring  communion  in  England  distinct 
from  the  Bancroft  line ;  and  even  ventured,  in  contradiction  to  the  ad- 
vice and  opinion  of  his  brethren,  upon  the  extraordinary  step  of  a  single 
consecration  by  himself,  without  any  assistance."  This  "  separation," 
which  Mr  Skinner  mentions  as  existing  "  in  some  of  the  western  parts 
of  England  to  this  day,"  is  now  extinct,  like  the  Nonjuring  Church. 

It  appears  from  Mr  Lockhart's  letter  to  the  Chevalier,  that  the  chief 
design  of  consecrating  Bishop  Norrie  was  to  send  him  to  "  counteract 
Gadderar,  and  inspect  the  affairs  of  the  Church  in  the  northern  coun- 
ties." It  was  to  have  been  done  without  the  knowledge  of  the  Chevalier, 
and  his  correspondent  enters  into  a  long  explanation,  in  which  the  al- 
leged urgency  of  the  case  is  the  chief  argument,  "  being  hopeful  you  will 
not  disapprove  of  it,  seeing  it  was  really,"  he  says,  "  a  case  of  necessity, 
and  the  application  made  to  your  Trustees  preserves  your  prerogative  un- 
tiolated."  He  then  advises  the  Chevalier  in  the  following  language  of 
sophistry — "  It  will,  I  believe,  be  expedient  that  you  write  two  letters 
to  the  College,  one  authorising  them  to  make  the  promotions  in  the 
manner  desired,  the  other  approving  of  what  they  had  done  with  re- 
spect to  Norrie,  therein  taking  notice  of  the  applications  made  to  your 
Trustees,  and  of  his  consecration  being  hastened  without  waiting  for  your 
previous  direction,  because  of  the  inconveniences  attending  a  delay,  and 
that  therefore  you  approved  of  what  was  done,  and  of  his  taking  upon 
him  the  government  of  the  Church  in  the  diocese  of  Aberdeen,  and 
such  other  places  as  the  College  think  Jit  to  appoint.  This  authority  from 
you  will  raise  his  credit,  and  make  him  more  regarded  in  those  coun- 
tries, where  every  thing  that  comes  from  you  hath  its  due  weight.  I 
took  a  proper  occasion  also  to  acquaint  Bishop  Fullarton,  that  though 
I  did  not  question  his  own  and  his  brethren's  regard  for  the  royal  au- 
thority, yet  the  step  they  were  to  make  with  respect  to  Norrie  might 
perhaps  be  adduced  many  years  after  this  as  a  precedent  against  it, 
seeing  nothing  would  appear  to  show  the  method  that  was  taken,  and 
the  true  cause  of  it  ;  for  which  reason  I  proposed  the  College  should 
write  ;i  letter  to  me,  disclaiming  any  design  of  encroaching  upon  your 
prerogative,  and  Bhowing  the  reason  of  their  proceeding  so  hastily  in 
that  matter.     He  desired  me  to  draw  such  a  letter,  which  haying  dene. 

lie  laid  it  before  his  brethren,  and   returned  it  to  me   signed  with    BOme 

,  addition!  e<  il  and  loyalty  to  you.     This  letter  [shall  keep 


238  HISTORY  OF  THE 

for  jour  service,  lest  in  any  time  coming  men  of  unruly  tempers  make 
a  bad  use  of  what  was  truly  done  with  no  bad  views,  and  merely  from 
necessity."* 

All  this,  however,  was  prospective,  for  we  find  that  Mr  Norrie  was 
not  consecrated  at  that  time.  Bishop  Gadderar  and  the  "  Usages"  seem 
to  have  given  as  much  annoyance  to  the  Chevalier  and  his  "  Trustees" 
in  Scotland,  at  least  the  latter,  as  if  the  cause  of  the  exiled  dynasty 
had  solely  depended  on  silencing  the  former.  The  clamour  against  the 
Usages  that  they  were  Popish  was  altogether  unfounded,  and  on  the 
part  of  the  "  Trustees"  was  never  intended  to  be  serious.  They  were 
opposed  to  diocesan  episcopacy  for  obvious  political  purposes  ;  they 
wanted  the  Chevalier  to  nominate  the  Bishops  as  if  he  had  been  the 
reigning  sovereign,  instead  of  the  clergy  of  the  dioceses  electing  their 
own  Bishops,  and  presenting  those  so  elected  to  the  Primus  and  the 
other  Bishops  for  consecration.  It  appears  from  a  postscript  to  the  letter 
from  which  the  preceding  extracts  are  taken,  that  Bishop  Fullarton  had 
either  persuaded  Bishop  Gadderar  to  offer  a  compromise,  or  that  the 
latter  did  not  wish  to  excite  any  divisions  in  the  diocese  of  Aberdeen 
by  the  appearance  of  Bishop  Norrie.  "  The  day  before  I  was  to  send 
this  off,"  says  Mr  Lockhart  to  the  Chevalier,  "  I  received  a  letter  from 
Bishop  Fullarton,  acquainting  me  that  Gadderar  having  made  some 
show  of  submission,  the  College  did  resolve  to  delay  the  consecration 
of  Mr  Norrie  until  they  knew  your  pleasure  therein,  and  desired  that, 
instead  of  Mr  Gordon  [minister  at  Elgin]  I  should  insert  Mr  Ochter- 
lonie,  minister  at  Aberlemno,  in  the  list  of  the  persons  they  recom- 
mend. I  have  not  time  to  subscribe  this,  and  leave  out  what  relates  to 
Norrie  being  immediately  consecrated,  so  I  beg  you  would  forgive  this 
being  written  by  way  of  postscript." 

On  the  18th  of  March  1724,  the  Chevalier  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
Bishops  of  the  College  Party,  in  which  he  laments  the  want  of  union 
and  harmony  between  them  and  their  brethren,  expresses  his  deepest 
sense  of  gratitude  and  regard  for  their  constant  loyalty,  submission,  and 
attachment,  and  authorizes  them  to  add  to  their  number  the  four 
persons  they  proposed  to  him — Mr  John  Ochterlonie,  Mr  Robert  Nor- 
rie, Mr  Alexander  Duncan,  and  Mr  James  Rose.    "  But,"  says  the  Che- 

*   Lockhart  Papers,  vol.  ii.  p.  106,  107- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  239 

valier,  "  as  I  am  most  tender  of  any  thing  that  might  in  the  least  dis- 
turb jour  peace,  or  give  our  adversaries  any  handle  to  exercise  new 
cruelty  towards  you,  and  considering  my  present  distance  from  you,  I 
leave  to  your  determination  to  delay  the  adding  to  your  number  the 
four  above  named  persons  as  long  as  you  shall  think  fit,  to  the  end  that 
by  taking  a  proper  time  to  make  that  step  it  may  be  void  of  all  incon- 
venience, and  only  tend  to  your  advantage,  as  I  intend  and  wish  it  may 
prove."  In  virtue  of  this  authority,  Messrs  Nome  and  Duncan  were 
consecrated  that  year  as  already  mentioned  ;  but  that  of  the  other  two 
was  delayed. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  Bishops  Fullarton  and  Gadderar  were  the 
only  Diocesan  Bishops  at  that  time  in  Scotland,  and  that  to  none  of  the 
other  Bishops  was  any  district  or  diocese  assigned  ;  consequently  Bishops 
Millar,  Irvine,  Cant,  Duncan,  and  Norrie,  had  no  spiritual  authority 
whatever,  though  invested  with  the  Episcopal  office.  It  was  impossible 
that  this  irregular  and  uncanonical  practice  could  long  continue,  because 
it  was  not  only  the  occasion  of  confusions  and  divisions  in  the  Church, 
but  it  greatly  tended  to  retard  its  prosperity.  Those  Bishops  were  in 
the  exact  position  of  Mr  Henry  Doughty,  an  English  Nonjuring  clergy- 
man, of  the  parish  of  St  Anne,  Westminster,  whom  Bishops  Fullarton, 
Millar,  Irvine,  and  Freebairn,  consecrated  at  Edinburgh  on  the  30th  of 
March  1725,  but  for  what  purpose  does  not  appear. 

Bishop  Gadderar,  when  he  perceived  that  the  College  of  Bishops  were 
determined  to  proceed  against  him,  came  to  Edinburgh,  and  met  his 
brethren.  An  interview  took  place,  at  which,  besides  the  Bishops,  the 
Earffl  of  Wigton,  Panmure,  and  Kincardine,  and  Mr  Lockhart,  all  of 
whom  it  may  be  presumed  were  the  Chevalier's  "  Trustees,"  were  pre- 
sent. The  Bishop  contended  that  the  "  Usages"  were  practised  by  the 
Primitive  Fathers,  and  though  he  did  not  consider  them  essential,  he 
nevertheless  thought  them  integrals  in  the  worship  of  God,  and  in  par- 
ticular he  esteemed  it  his  indispensable  duty  to  mix  water  with  the  wine 
in  the  administration  of  the  holy  communion  ;  yet,  fertile  lakt  of  peace, 
he  would  willingly  co-operate  with  those  who  did  not  hold  this  opinion. 
The  Bishops  replied,  that  they  viewed  the  M  Usages"  M  matters  of  indif- 
ference in  themselves,  but  that  as  their  enemies  misrepresented  them, 
thev  fell  it    their   duly  to   oppose    the    introduction  of  BUCfa  ol»crvaner-, 

and  they  maintained  thai   Bishop  Gadderar,  as  ;i  son  of  the  Church, 


240  HISTORY  OF  THE 

ought  to  submit  to  the  authority  of  the  College  in  every  thing  which 
had  a  reference  merely  to  the  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  to  the  external 
government,  of  the  Church.  An  agreement  was  eventually  made,  and 
Bishop  Gadderar  bound  himself  not  to  insist  on  the  observance  of  the 
Usages  within  his  diocese,  and  to  conform  to  the  canons  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  excepting  the  mixture  of  the  cup  in  the  communion,  to 
which  the  Bishops  had  no  objections,  if  Bishop  Gadderar  "  performed 
it  only  to  those  that  demanded  it,  and  with  privacy  and  prudence,  as 
not  to  give  offence  to  others  who  startled  at  such  innovations." — "  I 
cannot,"  says  Mr  Lockhart,  "  express  the  disorder  that  was  at  this 
meeting,  for  there  was  little  reasoning  on  the  matter,  most  of  the  dis- 
courses being  invectives  and  unmannerly  reflections  against  Gadderar, 
who,  being  on  the  other  hand  as  obstinate  as  a  mule,  nothing  to  purpose 
would  have  attended  this  conference  had  not  the  noblemen  above  men- 
tioned interposed,  and  by  their  solid  reason  and  authority  adjusted  mat- 
ters in  the  manner  I  have  briefly  related." 

A  long  account  is  given  by  Mr  Lockhart  of  some  subsequent  proceed- 
ings respecting  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Norrie,  at  which  our  cave- 
lier  statesman  and  the  Earl  of  Panmure  were  present,  and  a  stormy  dis- 
cussion ensued.*  A  letter  was  dispatched  to  the  Chevalier  on  this  sub- 
ject by  Lockhart,  dated  December  8,  1724,  representing  that  Bishops 
Norrie  and  Duncan  had  been  consecrated  Bishops  at  large — that  some 
time  afterwards  the  former  had  been  appointed  to  the  superintendence 
of  Angus  and  Mearns,  and  the  latter  to  the  diocese  of  Glasgow — that 
this  arrangement  respecting  Bishop  Norrie  was  carried  by  the  majority 
of  the  Bishops,  seconded  by  the  Earl  of  Strathmore  and  other  persons 
of  distinction,  in  opposition  to  Bishops  Fullarton  and  Gadderar,  who 
protested  against  it,  and  were  supported  by  a  great  number  of  influen- 
tial gentlemen — and  that  "  not  only  are  the  Bishops  broken  in  pieces 
among  themselves,  but  the  divisions  and  heats  among  the  laity  are  also 
very  great,  and  have  occasioned  such  a  breach  and  misunderstanding  as 
will  not,  I  fear,  be  easily  or  soon  accommodated,  to  the  prejudice  of  the 
common  interest  in  these  loyal  shires."  Mr  Lockhart  then  tenders  the 
following  advice  to  the  Chevalier,  as  likely  to  prevent  in  future  "  such 
divisions  and  discord  as  have  arisen  on  this  late  occasion,  and  will  at 

*  Lockhart  Papers,  vol.  ii.  p.  124,  128. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUPtCH.  241 

the  same  time  support  and  maintain  the  power  lodged  in  and  practised 
by  the  Crown  in  the  nomination  and  appointment  of  Bishops." — "  Your 
Trustees  humbly  offer  as  their  advice,  that  you  would  be  pleased  to  write 
to  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  signifying  that,  though  you  allowed  them 
to  consecrate  a  certain  number  of  Bishops  that  the  order  may  be  con- 
tinued, yet  you  desired  the  College  should  not  for  the  future  pro- 
ceed to  settle  any  to  the  charge  and  inspection  of  any  particular  dio- 
cese or  province,  until  they  have  acquainted  your  Trustees  of  the  person's 
name,  that  they  may  inquire  how  far  he  will  be  acceptable  to  your  faith- 
ful subjects,  and  may  be  in  other  respects  fit  for  that  part  of  the  country  ; 
and  after  making  a  report  thereof  to  you,  you  signify  your  pleasure 
therein." 

These  passages  clearly  show  the  importance  attached  to  the  Scottish 
Episcopal  Church  by  the  Chevalier's  "  Trustees."  This  is  farther 
proved  by  a  letter  from  Mr  Lockhart  to  the  Chevalier,  dated  August 
18,  1724,  in  which  he  notices  the  great  age  of  the  Primus,  Bishop  Ful- 
larton,  and  urges  him,  in  the  event  of  that  prelate's  death,  to  nominate 
Bishop  Irvine  as  his  successor.  "  He  is  a  gentleman,"  he  says,  "  of 
good  sense  and  experience  in  business,  and  by  his  joining  my  Lord 
Dundee  and  Lord  Kenmure,  on  which  first  account  he  was  obliged  to 
retire  several  years  to  France,  and  lay  long  in  prison  after  the  unhappy 
action  at  Preston,  his  loyalty  and  zeal  for  your  service  are  unexception- 
able. The  Viscount  of  Kilsyth  and  most  of  those  now  with  you  know 
him  well,  and  will  confirm  what  I  say  of  him.  Though  this  person 
Lb  certainly  tho  fittest  to  succeed  Mr  Fullarton,  it  would  not  be  pro- 
per that  you  should  nominate  him  or  any  other  till  tho  evont  happen, 
lint  it  is  the  humble  opinion  of  many  of  your  Trustees  that  it  would 
tend  much  for  preserving  the  peace  and  unity  which  you  so  much  and 
on  such  good  grounds  do  recommend)  if  you  would  send  a  lottcr  directed 
to  the  Bishops,  signifying  that  whereas  you  are  at  a  great  distance  at 
present,  and  cannot  give  such  speedy  directions  on  soveral  matters 
the  importance  often  requires,  and  being  sensible  that  main  inconve- 
niences maj  arise  to  the  Church  of  Scotland  if  Mr  Fullarton,  the  pre- 
tent  Prima*,  should  happen  to  die,  for  want  of  one  of  the  College  dulj 
authorised  t"  lupplj  the  vacancy,  until  you  have  time  and   OppoitunJ 

to  name  one  to  succeed  him  that  therefore  you  have  Ben1  previously 
this  Letter  to  be  readj  and  delivered  to  the  College  "f  Bish<  -       a  the 


242  HISTORY  OF  THE 

event  foresaid,  and  that  you  do  thereby  direct  Bishop  Irvine  to  reside 
at  Edinburgh,  and  preside  in  the  College  of  Bishops,  until  you  name 
another  to  act  and  officiate  as  Primus.  It  is  proposed  that  this  letter 
should  be  kept  so  very  secret,  that  none  of  the  clergy,  nor  any  other  but 
those  by  whose  directions  I  write  this,  should  know  of  it  till  the  time  of 
its  being  delivered  ;  and  it  is  thought  an  expedient,  nay,  the  only  one 
that  will  prevent  the  heats  and  divisions  which  will  otherwise  infallibly 
happen,  to  the  no  small  prejudice  of  your  interest  here  ;  for  as  the  epis  ■ 
copal  party,  which  daily  becomes  more  numerous,  are  all  entirely  de- 
voted to  you,  and  that  in  some  measure  you  are  in  the  actual  exercise 
of  your  regal  power,  in  so  far  as  they  willingly  follow  your  directions 
in  what  you  require  of  them,  it  is  certainly  for  your  service  to  keep 
them  entire  and  at  one  in  all  matters  civil  or  ecclesiastical ;  and  while 
they  are  in  this  good  temper,  I  am  fond  of  every  occasion  that  casts  up 
for  you  to  exercise  your  royal  authority  over  so  great  a  number  of  loyal 
subjects,  willing  to  receive  your  commands."* 

Thus  advised  and  flattered,  the  Chevalier  addressed  the  required  let- 
ter to  the  College  of  Bishops,  dated  October  27,  1724,  but  this  intrigue 
was  unsuccessful,  for  Bishop  Irvine  died  in  1725,  and  his  death  is  thus 
noticed  by  Lockhart  in  the  postscript  to  a  letter  to  a  certain  person 
whom  he  styles  "  Lord  Inverness,"  dated  18th  December  1725  : — "  The 
King  has  the  other  day  lost  a  faithful  useful  servant  by  the  death  of 
Bishop  Irvine,  and  it  will  be  no  easy  matter  to  supply  his  place,  as  he 
was  the  only  one  of  all  the  present  Bishops  fit  to  succeed  Fullarton,  who 
is  quite  dosed,  and  cannot  last  long.      Some  purpose  Mr  Rattray  of 
Craighall,  and  if  he  would  lay  his  whims  aside  till  a  more  proper  junc- 
ture he  is  a  very  fit  person,  as  he  is  a  man  of  good  sense  and  learning, 
and  has  an  estate  to  support  his  rank.     Others  propose  your  and  my  old 
friend,  John  Gillan,  who  has  been  in  orders  for  some  years,  and  is  in 
as  great  esteem  as  any  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  in  Edinburgh.      You 
know  him  to  be  an  excellent  man  in  all  respects." 

In  a  letter  to  the  Chevalier,  dated  January  31,  1726,  the  same  sub- 
ject is  discussed  at  large  ;  Bishop  Irvine's  death  is  noticed  in  language 
of  deep  regret ;  the  increasing  infirmities  of  Bishop  Fullarton  are  men- 
tioned ;  and  the  Chevalier  is  informed  by  his  confidential  correspondent, 

*   Lcx'khart  Papers,  vol.  ii.  p.  119,  1*20. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  243 

that  as  there  is  not  "among  the  present  number  of  Bishops  one  fit  to 
be  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Church,"  it  is  necessary  that  he  should  take 
jihis  matter  into  his  serious  consideration.  "  If  Bishop  Cant,"  says  Mr 
Lockhart,  "  was  not,  by  reason  of  his  old  age,  become  very  infirm,  he  is 
a  person  in  all  respects  qualified  to  be  at  the  head  of  any  Church  in 
Christendom,  being  a  man  of  great  learning  and  integrity  ;  however,  he 
may  be  able  to  officiate  for  some  time  till  you  come  to  a  final  resolution. 
There  is  another,  Bishop  Duncan,  though  not  a  man  of  such  parts  and 
learning  as  the  other,  yet  eminently  distinguished  and  esteemed  for  his 
great  probity  and  zeal  for  you  and  the  Church's  interest."  The  Cheva- 
lier is  then  advised  to  write  to  the  College,  suggesting  either  Bishop 
Cant  or  Bishop  Duucan,  "as  shall  appear  most  convenient,  to  preside 
in  the  College  of  Bishops,  and  take  care  of  the  affairs  of  the  Church  in 
your  capital  of  Edinburgh  and  diocese  thereof,  until  you  determine 
yourself  in  the  choice  of  a  person  duly  qualified  and  agreeable  to  your 
people,  to  be  settled  in  a  post  of  such  consequence  with  respect  to  the 
interest  of  both  Church  and  State." 

The  same  subject  is  discussed  in  a  letter,  dated  April  30,  172G,  in 
which  Mr  Gillan  is  strongly  recommended  by  Mr  Lockhart  on  account 
of  his  "  excellent  sense  and  learning,"  and  his  "  zeal  and  firmness  to  go 
through  with  what  he  thinks  for  the  good  of  the  cause  ;"  but,  because 
the  several  Bishops  aimed  at  the  office  of  Primus  themselves,  the  "best 
way  to  prevent  envy  would  be  to  advance  a  presbyter,  or  one  such  as 
Gillan,  if  he  is  previously  consecrated,  that  is  not  dipt  in  their  cabals." 
This  confidant  is  therefore  earnestly  required  to  lay  this  matter  before 
the  Chevalier,  or  the  "  King,"  as  Mr  Lockhart  calls  him,  with  all  possible 
alacrity.  Meanwhile,  in  compliance  with  his  correspondent's  advice, 
the  Chevalier  sent  a  letter  to  the  College  of  Bishops,  dated  May  1, 
1726,  nominating  Bishop  Cant  to  officiate  temporarily  as  Primus  in  the 
event  of  Bishop  Fullarton's  death,  and,  failing  him,  Bishop  Duncan. 

On  the  7th  of  July  that  year  Mr  Lockhart  informs  the  Chevalier 
that  his  "  Trustees"  had  recommended  to  the  College,  under  his  autho- 
rity, the  Ke\.  James  Rose,  a  brother  of  Dr  Koso,  Bishop  of  Edinburgh, 

and  formerly  minister  of  Monimail  in  Fife,  to  be  consecrated,  and  that 
the  College  had  some  thoughts  of  consecrating  Mr  Ochtarlonie also,  and 
of  applying  to  have  your  liberty  of  setting  him  over  the  shires  of  Koss 
and  Moray,  vrherc  the  partj  increases,  and  i  Bishop  is  much  wanted. 


244  HISTORY  OF  THE 

As  it  respects  Mr  Gillan,  who  was  entirely  devoted  to  the  College 
Party,  an  order  was  transmitted  by  the  Chevalier,  dated  July  20,  1726, 
for  his  consecration,  and  this  was  accompanied  by  another  document 
enjoining  the  College  of  Bishops,  when  there  were  any  vacancies,  and 
when  they  think  it  necessary  to  add  to  their  number,  to  lay  before  his 
Trustees  a  list  of  such  persons,  whom  the  said  Trustees  were  to  send  to 
him,  with  their  opinions  upon  it:  "And  further,"  says  the  Chevalier, 
"it  is  my  will  and  pleasure  that  no  Bishop  amongst  you  shall  be  ap- 
pointed to  have  the  care  and  inspection  of  any  particular  district  with- 
out my  previous  authority,  and  that,  when  you  think  an  appointment 
necessary,  you  give  your  opinion  in  writing  to  my  Trustees,  to  be  trans- 
mitted as  above."  These  letters  were  delivered  to  Bishops  Norrie, 
Millar,  Freebairn,  and  Cant,  the  others  being  in  the  country,  who,  we 
are  told,  "  heartily  approved  of  the  scheme  the  King  had  laid  down,  and 
promised  to  consecrate  Mr  Gillan  with  all  due  expedition,  and  to  give 
exact  conformity  to  all  the  several  particulars  the  King  required  of 
them!"  The  results  of  this  will  immediately  appear.  The  consecra- 
tion of  Mr  Gillan  was  delayed,  but  on  the  29th  of  November  1726,  Mr 
Rose  and  Mr  Ochterlonie  were  consecrated  at  Edinburgh  by  Bishops 
Freebairn,  Duncan,  and  Cant.  Bishops  Fullarton,  Gadderar,  and 
Millar,  refused  to  have  any  concern  in  the  consecration  of  Mr  Ochter- 
lonie, and  Bishop  Gadderar  even  protested  against  the  act. 

The  venerable  Primus,  Bishop  Fullarton,  died  at  an  advanced  age 
on  the  first  or  second  day  of  May  1727,  and  at  his  death  Bishop  Gad- 
derar became  the  only  Diocesan  Bishop  in  Scotland — all  the  others, 
whatever  may  have  been  their  principles,  having  no  more  spiritual  au- 
thority by  toleration  than  they  had  in  England,  or  in  any  other  country 
where  the  Church  existed  or  was  established.  "  St  Cyprian's  maxim, 
Episcopatus  unus  est,  cvjus  a  singulis  in  soliclum  pars  tenetur,  is,"  says 
Bishop  Russell,*  "so  obviously  the  maxim  of  common  sense,  that  we 
believe  no  clergyman  out  of  Scotland  ever  supposed  that  a  number  of 
men  admitted  to  the  order  of  Bishops,  but  to  whom  as  individuals  the 
government  of  no  part  of  the  Church  was  committed,  had,  as  a  body  or 
college,  a  right  to  claim  the  government  of  the  ichole.  The  reader  will 
observe  that  we  are  writing  of  the  Church  as  a  purely  ecclesiastical 

*  Scottish  Episcopal  Magazine,  1821,  p.  197- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  245 

society,  totally  unconnected  as  a  society  with  the  State.  Such  was  the 
whole  Church  of  Christ  for  the  three  first  centuries,  and  such  was  the 
Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland  after  the  Revolution,  thought  at  the  death 
of  Bishop  Rose  she  had  no  particular  constitution  formed  for  herself  on 
Primitive  principles.  All  her  members,  both  clergymen  and  laymen, 
knew  perfectly  that  as  an  Episcopal  Church  she  must  be  governed  by 
Bishops,  but  they  differed  among  themselves  whether  she  should  be  go- 
verned by  a  College  of  Bishops  in  common,  or  be  divided  into  districts 
or  dioceses,  to  be  governed  each  by  its  proper  Diocesan." 


246  HISTORY  OF  THE 


CHAPTER  XV. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  SCOTTISH  BISHOPS  AT  THE  DEATH  OF    BISHOP  FULLAR- 

TON SUCCESSFUL  OPPOSITION  TO  THE  COLLEGE  PARTY ADJUSTMENT  OF 

THE  CONTEST  BY   THE  CONCORDA.TE  IN  1732. 


The  Chevalier's  two  letters  to  the  Bishops,  dated  July  20,  1726,  respect- 
ing the  consecration  of  Mr  Gillan,  and  the  prohibition  of  diocesan  su- 
perintendence without  his  own  sanction,  had  been  received  by  Bishops 
Norrie,  Freebairn,  Millar,  and  Cant,  in  the  absence  of  the  others,  with  "all 
the  dutiful  respect  imaginable,"  and  the  Trustees  thought  that  all  con- 
tention and  opposition  were  allayed.  But  in  this  they  were  grievously 
mistaken.  The  dispute  about  the  Usages  had  been  adjusted,  but  Bishop 
Gadderar  still  asserted  the  right,  in  the  then  peculiar  circumstances  of 
the  Church,  of  the  presbyters  to  elect  their  own  Bishops  without  any  de- 
pendance  on  the  Chevalier,  though  he  was  called  the  "  King,"  or  on 
the  College  of  Bishops.  The  latter,  he  rightly  maintained,  was  alto- 
gether a  novelty,  unknown  and  never  practised  in  any  era  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  Catholic  Church  of  Christ ;  and  as  to  the  former,  although 
his  rights  were  undoubted,  it  was  plain  that  he  could  not  exercise  any 
acts  of  regal  power,  inasmuch  as  he  was  not  de  facto  sovereign,  and 
the  Church  had  ceased  to  be  the  National  Establishment.  If  the  ex- 
iled Family  were  restored,  and  the  Episcopal  Church  once  more  esta- 
blished by  law,  it  was  right  that  the  sovereign  should  exercise  his  pre- 
rogative ;  but  even  then  he  could  only  issue  his  conge  d'elire  accord- 
ing to  law  when  a  diocese  became  vacant,  and  he  could  not  multiply  the 
consecrations  as  he  pleased,  which  was  evidently  the  principle  on  which 
the  College  was  constituted.    It  was  on  these  grounds  that  Bishop  Gad- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  247 

derar  evidently  rested  his  opposition  to  the  College  scheme,  although  it 
was  supported  by  his  brethren  and  by  not  a  few  of  the  influential  laity. 
Bishop  Gadderar  was  supported  in  his  views  by  the  Rev.  Dr  Rattray 
of  Craighall,  and  by  various  noblemen  and  gentlemen  among  the  laity  ; 
and  the  question  was  again  agitated  in  connection  with  the  consecra- 
tion of  Mr  Gillan,  whose  devotion  to  the  College  Party  was  well  known. 
Bishop  Millar,    one  of  the  four  who  had  received  and  answered  the 
Chevalier's  letters  of  the  20th  of  July,  now  opposed  Mr  Gillan's  conse- 
cration, and  urged  Bishop  Freebairn  to  unite  with  him  ;   but  that  pre- 
late, whose  notions  on  the  subject  of  ecclesiastical  patronage  were  also 
well  known,  and  who  often  allowed  his  political  principles  to  interfere 
with  or  regulate  his  episcopal  functions,  positively  declined.     The  con- 
duct of  Bishop  Millar  is,  as  may  be  expected,  bitterly  assailed  by  Mr 
Lockhart.     He  is  accused  of  being  of  a  "  hot  turbulent  temper,  ambi- 
tious, proud,  and  positive,   and  withal  was  but  meanly  endowed  with 
learning,  prudence,  or  discretion  ;"  but  as  this  is  the  language  of  poli- 
tical invective,  it  must  be  received  with  the  necessary  limitations.     It 
appears  that  he  had  been  wavering  in  his  views  of  the  College  scheme, 
and  had  attempted  to  obtain  the  episcopal  jurisdiction  of  the  county  of 
Fife  ;  but  being  unsuccessful,  he  at  last  "  turned  his  thoughts  on  suc- 
ceeding Fullarton  in  the  See  of  Edinburgh,  who,  being  mightily  decay- 
ed both  in  body  and  mind,  could  not  long  hold  out."* 

The  angry  Cavalier  statesman  proceeds  to  accuse  Bishop  Millar  of 
employing  a  series  of  unwarrantable  means  to  secure  his  own  election 
as  successor  to  the  Primus,  in  opposition  to  Mr  Gillan,  who  was  the 
person  nominated  by  the  Chevalier,  and  supported  by  his  Scottish 
Trustees  ;  and  it  appears  that  a  remonstranco  against  Mr  Gillan's  conse- 
cration was  signed  by  twenty  of  tho  presbyters  of  Edinburgh,  "  though 
some  of  them,"  says  Mr  Lockhart,  "  afterwards  deleted  their  names,  or 
signed  a,  recantation."  Among  those  who  signed  this  remonstrance 
was  tho  colobrated  Robert  Keith,  afterwards  Bishop  Keith,  "  who," 
says  Mr  Lockhart,  "  secretly  grudged  that  Gillan,  though  a  person  of 
good  ago,  that  is,  above  sixty,  yet  but  lately  admitted  into  holy  orders, 
should  Btep  ovor  them  his  seuiors." 

Tin-   remonstrance  was  presented  to  the  College  Bishops,  and  is  do- 

•   Lockhart   Papers,  \<>1.  ii-  p.  324,  325. 


248  HISTORY  OF  THE 

scribed  as  representing  the  encroachments  made  on  the  rights  of  the 
Church  since  the  Reformation,  earnestly  requiring  and  exhorting  the 
College  to  embrace  this  favourable  opportunity  of  regaining  what  was 
lost,  since  it  was  evident  that  the  "  Crown"  was  not  in  a  condition  to 
maintain  them.  The  Chevalier  was  accused  of  violating  the  promise 
he  had  given,  that  he  would  recommend  no  person  to  the  Episcopal 
office  without  previously  consulting  the  College,  and  it  concluded  with 
expressions  of  dissatisfaction  respecting  Mr  Gillan's  character  and  qua- 
lifications, the  proofs  of  which  they  reseived  for  a  future  occasion. 
When  this  paper  was  presented  to  Bishop  Duncan,  who  firmly  believed 
that  the  Stuart  dynasty  would  be  restored  and  the  Church  re-established, 
he  told  the  presbyters  that  out  of  regard  to  them  he  would  throw  it  into 
the  fire  when  they  submitted  it  to  the  College,  lest  it  should  appear  after- 
wards in  condemnation  against  them — that  he  considered  their  conduct 
seditious,  unwarrantable,  and  disrespectful  to  their  civil  and  ecclesiasti- 
cal superiors — that  as  Mr  Gillan  was  to  be  consecrated  a  Bishop  at 
large,  and  not  to  any  particular  diocese,  the  presbyters  of  Edinburgh 
had  no  more  concern  with  it  than  those  of  any  other  diocese  ;  and  that 
their  conduct  was  "  a  precedent  for  destroying  all  order  and  govern- 
ment in  the  Church,  and  directly  inconsistent  with  that  loyalty  which 
had  hitherto  been  the  glory  of  the  Scottish  Church." 

Although  Mr  Lockhart  characterizes  the  remonstrance  as  "  full  of 
treason,  falsehoods,  and  ill  manners,"  it  is  evident  to  every  impartial 
mind  that  its  language  was  just  and  its  demands  reasonable.  The  be- 
setting infirmity  of  the  College  Bishops,  who  had  been  all  nominated  by 
the  Chevalier,  was  a  slavish  servility  to  that  unfortunate  representative 
of  the  ancient  dynasty,  and  in  all  their  correspondence  with  him  not 
only  bestowing  upon  him  the  empty  title  of  King,  but  actually  address- 
ing him  and  receiving  his  commands  as  if  he  was  the  de  facto  reigning 
sovereign.  According  to  Bishop  Duncan,  Mr  Gillan  "  was  to  be  a  con- 
secrated Bishop  at  large,  and  not  to  any  particular  diocese,"  yet  this 
was  the  very  grievance  set  forth  in  the  remonstrance.  The  presbyters 
were  now  becoming  sensible  of  the  evils  of  the  College  scheme,  and  of 
the  advantages  of  Diocesan  superintendence.  They  had  themselves  ex- 
perienced the  benefits  of  it  under  Bishop  Fullarton  in  the  diocese  of 
Edinburgh ;  they  had  seen  its  salutary  operations  in  the  counties  of 
Forfar  and  Kincardine,  which  comprehended  the  ancient  diocese  of 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  249 

Brechin,  under  Bishop  Falconer  ;  and  they  saw  religion  prospering  and 
the  Church  flourishing  in  the  diocese  of  Aberdeen  under  Bishop  Gad- 
derar,  the  chosen  diocesan  of  the  presbyters.     So  much  was  this  the  case 
in  the  latter  diocese,  that  it  attracted  the  notice  and  excited  the  alarm  of 
the  Established  Presbyterians.     We  find  Wodrow  thus  expressing  him- 
self in  his  own  way,  under  date  1727,  which  shows  how  efficiently  and 
fearlessly  Bishop  Gadderar  discharged  his  important  duties.     "  There 
was  a  most  pointed  representation  of  grievances  from  the  irregularities 
of  Bishop  Gadderar  brought  in  by  the  Synod  of  Aberdeen.     That  pre- 
tended Bishop  was  consecrated  by  Dr  Hickes,  and  is  on  the  very  border 
of  Popery.     He  goes  through  the  diocese  of  Aberdeen  as  their  proper 
Bishop,  and  confirms  and  ordains,  and  by  his  Episcopal  power  he  takes 
all  causes  before  him,  without  any  advising  with  presbyters  ;  by  his 
sole  authority  deposes  prelatick  ministers,  and  that  because  they  join 
in  communion  with,  and  hear,  and  subject  to  discipline  with  schismati- 
cal  persons,  that  is,  such  of  the  prelatick  way  as  have  taken  the  oaths, 
or  pray  for  King  George,  or  at  least  pray  not  in  direct  terms  for  the 
Pretender,  or  in  words  that  are  applicable  to  him  and  the  King.     One 
lie  lias  deposed  for  this  ;  and  he  is  going  on.     This  pretended  Bishop 
travels  up  and  down,  and  gathers  small  sums  from  those  of  his  own  per- 
suasion, and  yet  is  not  rich.     He  stirs  up  divisions  in  parishes  who  ad- 
here to  their  Presbyterian  ministers,  which  is  no  difficult  matter  in  that 
country,     I  think  there  are  upwards  of  twenty  meeting-houses  set  up  in 
the  shire  of  Aberdeen  since  last  year,  and  mostly  filled  with  persons  fu- 
gitate  for  their  being   in  the  Rebellion.     In  short,  the  [Presbyterian] 
ministers  in  some  places  there  are  speaking  of  leaving  their  charges."* 
Bishop  Millar  had  left  the  College  Party,  and  Bishop  Cant  had  become 
extremely  lukewarm  in  their  cause  ;  and  it  was  daily  becoming  obvious 
that  a  prince,  whatever  were  his  claims,  living  in  exile,  ought  not  in 
an  unestablished  Church  to  exercise  that  control  to  which  he  may  have 
been  entitled  if  he  had  been  the  reigning  sovereign.    The  position  which 
they  assumed,  therefore,  and  on  which  they  took  their  stand,  was  to  re- 
vert to  the  primitive  ecclesiastical  constitution — to  contend  for  diocesan 
instead  of  collegiate  Episcopacy — and  to  maintain  the  inherent  right  of 
the  presbvters  to  elect  their  own  Bishops   in   the  circumstances  of  the 
Church 

•  Wodrow*a  Analecta,  MS,  Advocates'  Library. 


250  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Such  principles  as  these  greatly  irritated  laymen  like  Mr  Lock- 
hart  of  Canrwath  and  the  other  political  leaders  of  the  Jacobite  party. 
But  the  presbyters  were  not  to  be  diverted  from  their  purpose,  notwith- 
standing the  unqualified  vituperations  they  received.  They  openly  and 
everywhere  lamented  the  state  of  the  Church,  and  though  they  were 
zealous  friends  to  the  cause  of  the  Chevalier,  they  could  not  refrain  from 
asking,  if  he  could  thus  act  when  it  was  notorious  to  all  the  world  that 
he  was  not  in  a  condition  to  maintain  the  Church,  what  was  to  be  ex- 
pected if  he  were  on  the  throne  ?  Mr  Lockhart,  who  was  mortally  of- 
fended at  their  conduct,  had  a  conference  with  the  Rev.  Robert  Keith  on 
the  subject,  telling  him  that  he  was  surprised  to  find  his  name  at  a 
paper  "  so  seditious,  false,  and  unmannerly,"  and  expostulated  with  him 
in  the  most  earnest  manner  to  withdraw  from  the  party,  assuring  him 
that,  in  the  case  of  Mr  Gillan,  "  his  Majesty  would  by  no  means  think 
of  advancing  him  or  any  man  but  with  the  previous  advice  and  appro- 
bation of  the  College  and  the  presbyters  of  the  diocese."  Mr  Keith  calmly 
answered,  that  it  was  undeniable  the  State  had  made  great  encroachments 
on  the  Church,  and  though  he  was  not  altogether  certain  if  the  then  junc- 
ture was  the  most  seasonable  time  to  remove  these  encroachments,  yet 
they  could  not  conscientiously  sit  altogether  idle,  and  he  had  authority 
to  make  two  propositions  for  peace — either  that  the  whole  affair  should 
be  referred  to  the  decision  of  persons  whom  he  mentioned,  or  that  a 
clergyman  of  unquestionable  character  whom  his  friends  would  name 
should  be  consecrated  with  Mr  Gillan.  "  I  replied  with  indignation," 
says  Mr  Lockhart,  "  that  the  King  was  not  reduced  quite  so  low  as  to 
make  a  reference  or  composition  with  a  parcel  of  little  factious  priests 
in  the  diocese  of  Edinburgh,  who,  as  if  they  were  serving  the  Covenanted 
cause,  should  change  their  black  gowns  into  brown  cloaks,  and  I  doubt 
not  they  would  be  received  into  the  godly  party,  unless  ecclesiastic  had 
the  same  fate  with  the  State  traitors,  in  being  despised  by  those  they 
served." 

This  altercation  between  the  Collegiate  Bishops  on  the  one  side,  and 
the  Presbyters  on  the  other,  headed  by  Bishops  Gadderar  and  Millar,  was 
so  violent  that  the  correspondence  between  the  Chevalier  and  his  "  Trus- 
tees" became  known  to  the  Government,  who  immediately  adopted  mea- 
sures for  intercepting  all  future  letters,  in  the  hope  of  discovering  more 
important  matters  and  intrigues.     One  of  the  presbyters  of  Edinburgh 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  251 

named  Middleton,  and  some  of  his  friends,  were  accused  of  conveying 
this  information  to  the  existing  authorities,  but  they  took  no  notice  of 
the  disputes  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  clergy,  or  of  the  influence  exercised 
in  the  consecration  of  the  Bishops.  Some  of  the  more  zealous  Presby- 
terians applied  to  the  Earl  of  Islay,  requesting  his  Lordship  to  bring 
those  "  bold  barefaced  exercises"  of  the  Episcopal  office  before  the  no- 
tice of  the  Government,  but  that  nobleman  declined,  telling  them  that 
"  they  judged  quite  wrong,  for  that  the  Episcopal  party  were  in  the 
high  way  of  undoing  themselves,  if  let  alone,  and  suffered  to  go  on." 

These  disputes  caused  some  conversation  among  the  Presbyterians, 
and  we  accordingly  find  Wodrow  making  them  the  subject  of  his  gossip- 
ing remarks  : — "  I  hear  that  in  the  letters  lately  seized  at  Leith,  come 
from  the  Pretender  or  his  friends,  were  several  of  the  Pretender's  conges 
d'elire  for  our  Scots  Bishops,  which  were  taken  and  sent  to  London. 
Whether  there  was  one  to  Mr  John  Gillan,  who  is  designed  by  Cam 
wath  [Lockhart]  and  a  party  among  the  Prelatists  to  be  Primate  or 
Bishop  of  Edinburgh  in  room  of  Mr  John  Fullarton,  who  is  turned 
eighty,  and  hath  very  much  lost  his  judgment,  and  can  be  of  no  farther 
use  to  them,  I  cannot  tell.     But  I  am  told  there  is  a  very  great  heat 
among  them  at  Edinburgh.     Mr  Freebairn,  and  several  others  of  the 
old  persons  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  now  made  Bishops,  take  it  very  ill 
that  so  young  a  man  as  Mr  Gillan,*  who  some  years  ago  was  but  a  tutor 
and  schoolmaster,  I  think  with  Mr  Forrest,  and  was  made  but  a  preach- 
ing deacon  within  these  four  or  five  years,    should  be  advanced  to  be 
Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  and  the  Primacy,  as  they  call  it,  of  the  clergy, 
sedc  vacante,  and  they  be  overlooked.     Mr  Lockhart  of  Camwath  hath 
been  very  active  in  this  matter,  and  brought  in  a  party  to  be  for  Mr 
Gillan,  who  is  thought  to  be  indeed  the  author  of  that  book  which  gene- 
rally goes  under  the  name  of  '  Carnwath's  Memoires.'     Mr  Gillan  is 
certainly  a  man  of  cleverness  and  sufficiency,  and  though  he  be  younger 
than    Mr   Freebairn  and  others,  it  may  be  Camwath  thinks  him  the 
fitter  and  the  more  probable  to  continue  some  time  in  that  post." — 
Wodrow  narrates  the  following  proceedings,  which  were  told  him  by  one 
of  his  friends,  who  in  turn  details  them  from  the  above-mentioned  Ml 
Middleton,  who  "  saw  all  the  papers  that  passed  of  late  this  winter  and 

*  Wodroif  here  means  young  a>  it  respects  status  in  the  Church,  as  be  ootioea  that 

Bishop  Gillan  WM  COOtiderabtj  advanced  in  life  before  he  ITM  ordained. 


252  HISTORY  OF  THE 

spring  [1727]  at  Edinburgh,"  but  which,  in  reality,  is  one  of  the  many 
proofs  that  Wodrow,  like  many  of  his  Presbyterian  friends,  could  not  let 
the  Episcopalians  alone,  but  was  continually  dabbling  in  their  affairs. 
"  There  is  a  terrible  heat  at  Edinburgh  among  the  Episcopal  people  about 
Mr  John  Gillan,  of  whom  somewhat  has  been  noticed  formerly.  Mr  Gillan 
was  Mr  Lockhart  of  Carnwath's  governor  [preceptor]  and  chaplain,  and 
Carnwath,  by  his  interest  at  the  Pretender's  Court,  got  a  mandamus,  or 
conge  d'elire  from  the  Pretender,  to  choose  Mr  Gillan  one  of  the  College 
of  Bishops  at  Edinburgh,  and  he  is  designed  to  be  Bishop  of  Edinburgh 
after  Fullarton's  death.  The  elder  Bishops  took  this  very  ill,  and  a 
long  remonstrance,  which  my  informer  saw,  was  given  in  to  the  College 
of  Bishops  against  Mr  Gillan's  admission.  It  run  upon  several  things, 
as  his  not  being  long  enough  in  orders  to  be  admitted  to  the  College  of 
Bishops.  They  offered  to  prove  several  acts  of  unrighteousness  against 
him  in  his  business  as  a  bookseller,  which  he  hath  followed  for  many 
years  ;  and  they  offered  to  prove  that  he  had  said  in  conversation,  that 
when  he  had  thoroughly  considered  the  Reformation,  and  secession  from 
the  Church  of  Rome,  there  were  so  many  things  wrong  in  it,  that  had 
he  been  alive  and  known  these  things,  he  could  not  have  had  freedom 
to  join  with  any  Protestant  society  at  the  Reformation.  Mr  Gillan  la- 
boured hard  to  have  liberty  to  take  off  these  objections,  but  complained 
that  he  was  not  heard,  and  the  remonstrance  and  the  opinion  of  many 
of  the  Bishops  and  clergy,  of  the  inconvenience  of  urging  Mr  Gillan, 
being  received,  were  laid  before  the  Court  of  Boulogne,  as  they  now  call 
the  Pretender's  Court.  However,  Carnwath's  interest  there  is  so  great 
that  a  new  mandamus,  in  very  positive  terms,  is  sent  over,  ordering  Mr 
Gillan  to  be  received  into  the  Bishops.  This,  they  say,  with  the  letters 
anent  it,  was  seized  at  Leith  and  sent  to  London,  on  which  Carnwath 
is  absconded,  or,  as  some  say,  gone  to  London.  However,  the  Episco- 
pal clergy  are  still  divided  in  their  sentiments,  and  a  second  remon- 
strance is  given  in  to  the  College  of  Bishops  against  receiving  Mr  Gillan, 
at  which  the  Jacobite  laity  are  much  exasperated,  and  say  it  ill  becomes 
the  clergy  to  stand  upon  their  punctilios  against  the  express  orders  of 
their  King,  and  the  Bishops  are  so  divided,  that,  though  those  for  Mr 
Gillan  called  in  Mr  A.  Duncan  from  Glasgow,  and  have  made  a  new 
Bishop  one  Rose,  Bishop  Rose's  brother  ;  yet  old  Mr  Cant  and  some 
others  are  so  keen  in  the  Episcopal  College  against  Gillan,  that  Bishops 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  253 

Freebairn,  Ochterlonie,  and  some  others  who  are  for  Mr  Gillan,  cannot 
get  a  sufficient  number  to  consecrate  him,  and  there  the  matter  stands 
at  present."* 

In  this  excited  state  was  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  at  the  death 
of  its  venerable  Primus,  Bishop  Fullarton,  in  May  1727.  On  the  5th 
of  that  month,  probably  the  day  of  the  Bishop's  funeral,  the  presbyters 
of  Edinburgh  met  at  the  summons  of  their  Archdeacon,  the  Rev.  Andrew 
Lumsden,  formerly  minister  of  Duddingstone,  for  the  purpose  of  electing 
a  successor  to  their  deceased  diocesan.  As  the  Archdeacon  had  been 
appointed  by  Bishop  Fullarton,  he  considered  himself  as  functus  officio, 
for  he  immediately  left  the  chair,  and  a  preses  was  chosen.  It  was  pro- 
posed  to  proceed  immediately  to  the  election,  without  any  reference  to 
the  Chevalier  and  his  "  Trustees,"  when  one  Presbyter  left  the  meeting, 
because  in  his  opinion  it  was  called  by  no  authority.  All  the  rest  re- 
mained, and  some  of  them  argued  against  the  election,  requesting  time 
for  deliberation.  The  vote  was  then  taken  to  proceed  or  delay,  when 
the  former  was  carried  by  twenty-one  to  ten,  and  the  minority  immedi- 
ately rose,  protested  against  the  meeting,  as  not  convened  by  canonical 
authority,  and  withdrew.  The  majority  of  twenty  one  then  proceeded 
with  the  election,  when  the  "  Right  Rev.  Arthur  Millar,  formerly  mi- 
nister of  Inveresk,  and  one  of  the  Bishops  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church,"  was  unanimously  declared  duly  elected,  and  acknowledged  as 
diocesan  of  Edinburgh. 

This  was  the  first  decisive  blow  struck  at  the  schemes  of  the  College 
Party,  and  at  that  undue  influence  which  the  Chevalier  had  exercised 
in  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church.  A  violent  controversy  ensued  between 
the  College  and  the  Diocesan  Parties,  which  with  respect  to  Bishop  Mil- 
lar was  unnecessary,  as  Bishop  Gadderar,  by  whom  the  election  was  ap- 
proved, was  the  only  diocesan  Bishop  in  Scotland.  The  College  Party, 
U  was  to  be  expected,  refused  to  confirm  Bishop  Millar's  election,  and 
appointed  Bishop  Freebairn  to  superintend  the  diocese  in  the  interim. 
Thus  there  were  two  parties — ono  who  rendered  canonical  obedience  to 
Bishop  Millar,  and  the  other  to  Bishop  Freebairn.  On  the  1 1th  of  June 
1727  the  College  Bishop!  added  two  to  their  numbers.  On  that  dav 
Mr  Gillan  and  the  Uov.  David  Rankine,  formerly  minister  of  Bennathie, 

*   Wodrow's  Analrcta.   MS.,  Advocates'  Library. 


254  HISTORY  OF  THE 

were  consecrated  at  Edinburgh  by  Bishops  Freebairn,   Duncan,  Rose, 
and  Ochterlonie. 

The  Diocesan  Bishops,  on  the  other  hand,  were  resolved  to  pursue 
the  advantages  they  had  gained.  Encouraged  by  Bishops  Millar,  Gad- 
derar,  and  Cant,  and  also  by  Bishop  Campbell,  the  clergy  of  the  differ- 
ent dioceses  proceeded  to  elect  proper  Bishops  for  themselves.  The 
presbyters  within  the  ancient  diocese  of  Dunkeld,  who  had  been  under 
no  particular  episcopal  jurisdiction  since  the  death  of  Bishop  Falconer, 
met  and  elected  the  Rev.  Dr  Thomas  Rattray  of  Craighall,  one  of  their 
own  number,  to  be  their  Bishop,  and  he  was  consecrated  at  Edinburgh 
on  the  4th  of  June  1727,  by  Bishops  Millar,  Gadderar,  and  Cant.  The 
Diocesan  Bishops  being  now  determined  to  adhere  to  the  model  of  the 
Primitive  Church,  independent  of  the  influence  of  the  Chevalier  and 
his  "  Trustees,"  resolved  to  increase  their  number  to  preserve  the  suc- 
cession, in  opposition  to  the  College  Party.  The  clergy  of  the  diocese 
of  Moray  elected  the  Rev.  William  Dunbar,  formerly  minister  of  Cru- 
den  in  Aberdeenshire,  to  be  their  Bishop,  and  as  the  old  age  and  infir- 
mities of  Bishop  Millar  rendered  a  coadjutor  necessary,  the  Rev.  Robert 
Keith,  presbyter  in  Edinburgh,  was  nominated,  and  those  two  clergy- 
men were  consecrated  at  Edinburgh  on  the  18th  of  June  1727. 

The  three  newly  consecrated  Bishops  were  men  of  the  greatest  re- 
spectability, of  most  upright  principles,  and  two  of  them  at  least  of  sound 
learning.  Bishop  Rattray  was  proprietor  of  the  fine  estate  of  Craig- 
hall in  Perthshire,  and  was  the  representative  of  an  ancient  family. 
His  principles  were  thoroughly  orthodox,  and  his  zeal  for  the  Episcopal 
Church  of  Scotland,  as  a  branch  of  the  Church  Catholic,  was  regulated 
by  the  most  ardent  piety.  Bishop  Keith  was  connected  with  the  Noble 
Family  of  Keith,  Earls  Marischal  of  Scotland,  and  he  is  well  known  and 
justly  celebrated  as  the  author  of  the  History  of  the  Church  and  State 
in  Scotland  during  the  period  of  the  Reformation  and  the  reign  of 
Queen  Mary,  from  which,  as  Mr  Fraser  Tytler  observes,  Dr  Robertson 
drew  all  his  stores.  Mr  Lockhart  sneeringly  speaks  of  Bishop  Dunbar., 
as  "  one  Mr  Dunbar,  a  disciple  of  Gadderar  in  the  North."  Bishop 
Dunbar,  there  is  every  evidence  to  show,  was  a  pious,  judicious,  and 
worthy  man.  He  had  suffered  severely  at  the  Revolution,  but  the  fact 
of  his  having  been  an  intimate  friend  of  Bishop  Gadderar  seems  to  have 
been  a  crime  in  the  eyes  of  the  College  Party. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  255 

The  Collegiate  Bishops  were  mortified  at  the  proceedings  of  their 
Diocesan  brethren.     They  saw  the  succession  now  secure,  independent 
of  their  assistance  or  sanction,  and  some  of  them  began  to  be  secretly 
dissatisfied  at  their  scheme  and  their  party.     The  sentiments  of  the  lay 
advocates  of  the  Collegiate  Bishops  may  be   inferred   from  what  Mr 
Lockhart  himself  records.  Alluding  to  the  Diocesan  Bishops — those  who 
had  been  consecrated  without  the  Chevalier's  sanction  or  nomination — he 
says — "  The  independence  of  the  Church  was  now  in  all  their  mouths, 
and  indeed  they  showed  no  regard  for  any  powers,  civil  or  ecclesiastic, 
but  in  so  far  as  these  were  on  their  side  of  the  question.     This  was 
highly  displeasing  to  a  great  many,  nay,  the  far  greater  part  of  the  laity, 
many  of  whom  told  plainly  that  as  they  had  ventured  their  lives  for  the 
King,  they  could  not  countenance  a  set  of  men  who  advanced  maxims 
and  formed  measures  tending  directly  to  lop  off  several  valuable  branches 
of  the  royal  prerogative  ;  and  so  offended  were  the  managers  of  the  most 
considerable  Episcopal  meeting-house  in  Edinburgh,  that  they  dismissed 
Bishop  Cant  and  Mr  Patrick  Middleton  from  being  pastors  thereof." 

The  College  Party,  completely  warped  by  Erastian  principles,   fo- 
mented their  notions  among  the  laity,  but  certainly  not  with  the  success 
which  Mr  Lockhart  intimates.      They  alleged  that  the  new  Bishops 
were  uncanonically  consecrated,  as  if  no  person  could  have  been  a  true 
Bishop  unless  he  had  the  sanction  or  recommendation  of  the  "  King," 
they  designated  the  Chevalier,  and  yet  it  is  not  a  little  remarkable 
that  they  acted  in  a  similar  manner  themselves.     It  is  already  stated 
that  they  consecrated  Bishop  Bankine  along  with  Bishop  Gillan,  but  the 
former  was  actually  consecrated  without  the  Chevalier's  knowledge.    Let 
\i-  hear  Mr  Lockhart,  their  devoted  partizan,  on  this  subject.    "  The  Col- 
lege of  Bishops  now  judged  it  proper  to  proceed  to  the  consecration  of 
Gillan,  and  it  were  much  to  be  icishecl  they  haditopt  there,  and  not  at  the 
me  time  promoted  another  Presbyter  of   Edinburgh,  Mr  Bankine  ;  for 
i  their  objections  against  Rattray  and  the  others  was  that  it  was 
done  without  the  King'*  knowledge,  it  was  a  firm  foundation  to  stand  on, 
but  this  step  of  theirs  did  quite  take  it  off,  though  for  their  justification 
\  offered  that  it  was  done  by  the  particular  expn  as  direction  of 
Mi  ham  and  Hay,  two  of  the  King't  Trustee*,  who,  believing  it 

for  tl  the  Church,  advised  the  measure ;  and  the  epp 

all  authority  and  approbation  of  Lord  Panmure,  another  of  ike 


25Q 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


Trustees,  and  that  the  service  of  the  Church  required  also  what  they  had 
done  ;  which,  like  many  texts  of  Scripture,  is  often  produced  to  justify 
contradictions  and  serve  party  views."* 

Bishop  Millar  died  at  a  very  advanced  age  a  few  months  after  his 
election  to  preside  over  the  clergy  in  the  Scottish  metropolis.     This  pre- 
late, who  is  bitterly  assailed  in  the  Lockhart  Papers  for  deserting  the 
College  Party,  had  been  deprived  of  his  benefice  of  Inveresk,  six  miles  from 
Edinburgh,  at  the  Revolution,  and  from  that  time  he  had  devoted  all  his 
energies  to  serve  his  native  Church.     After  the  Revolution,  when  the 
Episcopal  clergy  were  subjected,  by  expulsion  from  their  parishes,  to  the 
greatest  privations,  and  their  families  were  overwhelmed  in  poverty, 
subscriptions  were  collected  in  various  parts  of  the  country  to  supply 
their  pressing  wants,  and  Bishop  Millar,  then  a  Presbyter,  went  repeat- 
edly to  Ireland  to  promote  this  benevolent  object,  where  he  was  kindly 
received  by  the  dignitaries  of  the  Church,  and  honoured  with  their  advice 
as  well  as  their  generous  contributions.    "  The  Duke  of  Ormond,  who  was 
at  that  time  Lord  Lieutenant,"  says  Bishop  Russell,  "  granted  to  him  a 
brief  (an  official  warrant,  which  I  believe  corresponds  to  His  Majesty's 
letter  in  England),  and  this  countenance  and  authority  on  the  part  of 
the  Government,  it  need  hardly  be^observed,  contributed  very  essentially 
to  promote  the  purpose  of  his  mission.     He  met  with  opposition,  it  is 
true,  in  other  quarters,  but  the  friendship  and  zeal  of  the  Archbishop 
of  Dublin,  the  celebrated  Dr  King,  author  of  the  well  known  work  on 
the  Origin  of  Evil,  supported  him  against  his  bitterest  enemies,   and 
proved  to  him  a  full  requital  for  all  the  bigoted  hostility  with  which  he 
had  repeatedly  to  contend,  and  to  which  on  one  occasion  he  had  nearly 
fallen  a  victim."! 

Of  the  College  Party,  Bishop  Norrie  died  in  the  month  of  March 
1727,  and  of  the  Diocesan  Party  Bishop  Millar  in  the  month  of  October 
that  year.  At  the  death  of  the  latter  the  Presbyters  met  to  elect  a  sue  - 
cessor,  and  on  this  occasion  they  were  joined  by  those  of  their  brethren 
who  had  refused  to  co-operate  with  the  majority  who  elected  Bishop 
Millar.  They  had  the  boldness  to  bring  with  them  two  of  their  Bishops, 
who,  contrary  to  their  practice  on  former  occasions,  and  without  con- 
sidering the  dignity  of  their  own  order,  actually  claimed  a  right  to  sit 
and  vote  with  the  Presbyters  of  Edinburgh.     Whether  they  had  resolved 

*  Lockhart  Papers,  vol.  ii.  p.  334.  f  Edition  of  Keith's  Catalogue  of 

Scottish  BLhops,  p.  526. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  257 

to  make  a  last  effort  in  favour  of  the  College,  or  whether  they  were 
anxious  that  one  of  those  Bishops  should  be  elected,  is  not  known  ;  but 
the  other  party  were  anxious  that  Bishop  Keith,  who  had  acted  as  co- 
adjutor to  Bishop  Millar,  should  be  chosen  his  successor.  Both  parties, 
however,  were  disappointed,  for  the  election  of  the  presbyters  fell  upon 
the  Rev.  Andrew  Lumsden,  their  Archdeacon  under  Bishop  Fullarton, 
and  he  was  consecrated  at  Edinburgh,  on  the  2d  of  November,  by  Bishops 
Cant,  Rattray,  and  Keith. 

The  adherents  of  the  College  Party,  and  even  their  Bishops,  now  per- 
ceived that  all  their  efforts  and  influence  could  not  resist  the  progress 
of  their  Diocesan  opponents,  and  in  1731  they  intimated  an  inclination 
to  enter  into  terms  of  agreement,  by  which  the  dispute  would  be  satis- 
factorily adjusted  for  the  future  peace  of  the  Church.  Conferences  were 
held  between  the  junior  Bishops  of  each  party,  Bishop  Keith  in  behalf 
of  the  Diocesans,  and  Bishop  Gillan  on  the  side  of  the  College  adhe- 
rents. A  meeting  was  held  towards  the  end  of  December  1731,  and  a 
deed  was  accordingly  prepared,  called  a  Concordate,  which  was  subscrib- 
ed by  all  the  Bishops  on  the  13th  of  May  1732,  which  completely  ended 
the  novel  scheme  of  governing  the  Church  by  a  College  of  Bishops,  and 
gave  that  internal  peace  to  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  which  has 
been  ever  since  enjoyed. 

The  contents  of  this  important  document  are  given  by  Mr  Skinner. 
They  are  entitled  "  Articles  of  Agreement  amongst  the  Bishops  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland,"  to  the  following  effect : — "  I.  That  we  shall  only 
make  use  of  the  Scottish  or  English  Liturgy  in  the  public  divine  ser- 
vice, nor  shall  we  disturb  the  peace  of  the  Church  by  introducing  into 
the  public  worship  any  of  the  ancient  Usages,  concerning  which  there 
has  been  lately  a  difference  amongst  us  ;  and  that  we  shall  censure  any 
of  our  clergy  who  shall  act  otherwise.  II.  That  hereafter  no  man  shall 
be  consecrated  a  Bishop  of  this  Church  without  the  consent  and  appro- 
bation of  the  majority  of  the  other  Bishops.  III.  That  upon  the  de- 
mise or  removal  elsewhere  of  a  Bishop  of  any  district,  the  presbyters 
thereof'  shall  neither  elect,  nor  entrust  to,  another  Bishop,  without  a 
mandate  from  the  Primus,  by  consent  of  the  other  Bishops.  IV.  That 
the  Ui>liops  of  this  Church  shall,  by  a  majority  of  voices,  choose  their 
Primus,  tor  convocating  and  presiding  only,  and  that  no  Bishop  shall 
claim  jurisdiction  without  the  bounds  of  his  own  district.     V.  We.  the 

B 


258  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Bishops  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  have  chosen  and  appointed  Bishop 
Freebairn  to  be  our  Primus,  for  convocating  and  presiding  only,  accord- 
ing to  the  foregoing  article."  The  sixth  article  allots  the  diocese  of 
Glasgow  to  the  inspection  and  superintendence  of  Bishop  Duncan, 
"  excepting  only  Annandale,  Nithsdale,  and  Tweeddale,  together  with 
the  diocese  of  Galloway,  which  shall  be  under  the  inspection  of  Bishop 
Freebairn."  To  Bishop  Gillan  was  allotted  the  diocese  of  Dunblane  ; 
the  counties  of  Fife,  Clackmannan  and  Kinross,  to  Bishop  Rose  ;  the 
diocese  of  Dunkeld  to  Bishop  Rattray  ;  the  diocese  of  Brechin  to  Bishop 
Ochterlonie  ;  the  diocese  of  Aberdeen  to  Bishop  Gadderar  ;  the  dioceses 
of  Moray  and  Ross  to  Bishop  Dunbar  ;  the  diocese  of  Edinburgh  to 
Bishop  Lumsden  ;  and  Caithness,  the  Orkneys,  and  the  Isles,  were  placed 
under  the  superintendence  of  Bishop  Keith.  To  this  arrangement,  by 
which  the  boundaries  of  the  ancient  dioceses  are  preserved,  is  added — 
"  By  the  foresaid  divisions  of  districts  we  do  not  pretend  to  claim  any  legal 
title  to  dioceses"  This  paper  was  signed  by  the  Bishops  Freebairn, 
Ochterlonie,  Rattray,  Gillan,  and  Keith,  and  subsequently  by  all  the 

others. 

Such  was  the  Concordate  of  the  Scottish  Bishops,  which  put  an  end 
to  the  College  Contest.  During  its  agitation  it  excited  considerable  in- 
terest even  among  the  opponents  of  the  Church,  but  as  Mr  Skinner  ap- 
propriately observes,  it  "  need  not  afford  any  matter  of  triumph  to  our 
Presbyterian  neighbours,  when  they  look  to  the  great  breach  among 
themselves,  which  was  beginning  about  this  time,  and  is  still  widening, 
instead  of  being  closed,  as  ours  at  last  was,  and  still  continues  to  be." 
Mr  Skinner  here  alludes  to  the  rise  and  progress  of  that  numerous  sect 
in  Scotland  called  Seceders,  which  began  under  the  auspices  of  the  two 
brothers,  ministers  of  the  Presbyterian  Establishment,  named  Ralph 
and  Ebenezer  Erskine,  and  some  others,  which  was  followed  by  another 
hive  from  the  Established  party,  who  gave  themselves  the  title  of  the 
Belief  The  seeds  of  dissent  from  the  Presbyterian  Kirk  were  now 
sown  throughout  Scotland,  and  soon  grew  up  in  rank  luxuriance.  The 
chief  alleged  grievance  was  the  exercise  of  lay  patronage  in  presentations 
to,  the  parishes,  which  interfered  with  the  assumed  right  of  the  people 
to  elect  their  own  ministers.  Other  grievances  were  also  urged,  which, 
however,  it  is  not  within  the  province  of  the  present  work  to  state,  as 
the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  never  had  any  connection  with  the  Pres- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  2f>9 

bjterian  Establishment,  and  still  less  with  the  sects  which  emanated 
from  their  parent,  such  as  the  Relief  Presbyterians,  the  Seceders,  who 
soon  split  among  themselves,  and  were  long  known  by  the  soubriquets  of 
Burghers  and  Antiburghers,  Old  Light  Burghers  and  New  Light  Burgh- 
ers, Cameronians,  Glasites,  and  others.  Respecting  the  Seceders,  an  opi- 
nion may  be  formed  of  their  principles,  shortly  after  they  constituted 
themselves  into  a  separate  body,  and  also  of  the  extent  of  their  learning 
and  information,  from  the  fact,  that  in  one  of  their  printed  Testimonies, 
as  they  designate  their  official  effusions,  amongst  the  sins  of  the  times 
which  they  enumerate,  and  which  they  considered  likely  to  provoke  the 
Divine  vengeance,  they  specify  as  grievances  the  repeal  of  the  laics 
against  witchcraft,  and  the  open  toleration  of  Episcopacy  !  It  is  a  singular 
coincidence  that  the  Presbyterian  Establishment  began  to  be  agitated 
by  its  own  peculiar  schisms,  discords,  and  divisions,  at  the  very  time 
when  the  contest,  for  it  never  was  more  serious  in  the  Scottish  Epis- 
copal Church,  was  concluded  by  the  Concordate.  "  From  this  time," 
observes  Mr  Skinner,  "  the  Collegiate  system  fell  to  pieces  every  day, 
and  the  Primitive  Diocesan  Episcopacy  revived,  though  not  to  the  former 
legal  extent,  yet  as  far  as  the  circumstances  of  the  Church  required  or 
allowed/' 

As  it  respects  the  Concordate  of  the  Scottish  Bishops  in  1732,  which 
restored   peace   to   the    Church,    and   was   probably  [one  of  the  most 
important  events  in  her  internal  history  since  the  Revolution,  an  in- 
stance of  either  gross  ignorance  or  wilful  misrepresentation  is  paraded 
with  the   utmost  ostentation  by  a  Presbyterian  minister,  and  eagerly 
seized  as  a  precious  discovery  by  the  public  prints  belonging  to  his 
party.      This  occurs  in   "  Letters  on   Puseyite   Episcopacy,   by  John 
Brown,  D.D.,  Minister  of  Langton,  Berwickshire,"  published  in  1842, 
in  a  series  of  Letters  addressed  to  the  Rev.  Dr  Pusey  of  Oxford.    What 
notice  Dr  Pusey  may  think  proper  to  take  of  this  production,  if  indeed 
he  may  think  it  worth  his  notice  at  all,  it  is  of  course  impossible  for  the 
present  writer  to  conjecture  ;  but  as  Dr  Brown  must  needs  travel  out  of 
his  way  to  attack  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  a  few  remarks  are  ne- 
cessary.     It  surely  ought  to  have  occurred  to  a  gentleman  who  is  a 
Doctor  of  Divinity,  that  if  there  is  no  valid  ordination  in  the  Scottish 
Episcopal  Church,   there  can  be  none  in   the   Church   of  England,   Cor 
the  con* ■•■rations  of  1GG1  arc  the  sources  from  which  the  Episcopate  in 


2 GO  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Scotland  is  derived.     Dr  Brown  must  either  have  been  aware  of  the 
Concordate  of  1732,  or  he  must  not ;  and  if  he  was  not,  it  shows  how  ut- 
terly incompetent  was  the  task  he  undertook  in  his  "  Letters  on  Puseyite 
Episcopacy."   The  passage  in  question  was  thus  ostentatiously  designated 
— "  the  Scottish  Episcopalians  not  a  Church  of  Christ  according  to 
their  own  principles  ;"  and  he  quotes  a  document  signed  by  the  College 
Bishops,  in  which  they  "  suspend"  the  Bishops  consecrated  by  the  Dio- 
cesan Party.     His  great  authority  for  this  "  discovery"  is  a  certain  Mr 
Norman  Sievewright,  who  was  a  number  of  years  minister  of  an  "  Eng- 
lish" congregation  in  Brechin,  a  man  who  never  acknowledged  the  au- 
thority of  his  proper  Bishop,  and  who  lived  and  died  a  schismatic.    Mr 
Sievewright  was  one  of  that  anomalous  set  of  men  episcopally  ordained 
in   England,   who  became   "qualified"  minister  at  Brechin,   in  other 
words,  was  in  Scotland  an  Independent,  though  he  used  the  English  Li- 
turgy, and  made  a  pretence  of  belonging  to  the  Church  of  England.    It 
surely  might  have  also  occurred  to  Dr  Brown,  that  if  an  Episcopal  Church 
without  a  Bishop  is  an  absurdity,  surely  an  Episcopal  congregation,  the 
pastor  of  whom  is  not  under  diocesan  superintendence,   of  necessity 
ceases  to  be  episcopal.     Mr  Norman  Sievewright  chose  to  assail  what 
he  called  the   "pretensions  of  the  Scottish  Bishops,"  in  other  words, 
their  claims  to  jurisdiction  and  authority  over  the  presbyters,  yet  who 
or  where  was  his  Bishop  ?    He  affected  to  be  in  communion  with  the 
Church  of  England,  yet  what  Bishop  of  that  Church  could  recognize 
him,  or  in  whose  diocese  did  he  consider  himself?    This   "discovery" 
will  not  add  to  the  reputation  of  Dr  Brown  and  his  party.     If  he  was 
ignorant  of  the  Concordate  of  1732,  he  ought,  as  a  "  learned"  Doctor  of 
Divinity,  to  have  made  some  inquiries  into  the  history  of  the  Church 
which  he  feebly  endeavours  to  assail ;  but  if,  on  the  other  hand,  he  was 
well  aware  of  this  document,  and  purposely  suppressed  it,  he  displayed 
a  dishonesty  and  malignity  so  marked  as  to  make  all  his  opinions  and 
statements  utterly  valueless  and  contemptible.    And,  after  all,  what  is  the 
whole  affair  ?  Simply  a  dispute  on  one  particular  point,  certainly  of  im- 
portance to  the  peace  of  the  Church,  but  not  in  the  least  invalidating  the 
proceedings  of  either  party.     Are  there  no  wranglings,  contentions,  and 
mutual  vituperations  in  the  Presbyterian  Establishment  ?  Are  not  some 
of  its  "depositions"  of  its  parish  ministers  declared  by  a  large  party 
within  its  pale  to  be  altogether  illegal,  and  in  reality  not  considered  to  be 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CIIURCH.  261 

" depositions"  at  all?  Let  the  cases  of  Strathbogie  and  other  quarters 
answer  these  questions. 

The  dispute  between  the  Diocesan  and  College  Parties,  though  carried 
on  with  acrimony,  did  not  retard  the  zeal  of  the  influential  members  of 
the  Church.  Wodrow  himself  gives  us  a  very  graphic  delineation  of 
those  times  under  the  date  1727  :— "  I  am  told  that  Lady  Ann  Calen- 
dar, as  she  styles  herself,  the  Earl  of  Linlithgow's  daughter,*  married 
to  the  Earl  of  Kilmarnock,  hath  set  up  a  meeting-house  for  the  English 
Service  at  the  Brigend  of  Linlithgow,  but  it  is  not  much  frequented — 
that  by  her  means  a  fine  large  meeting-house  is  setting  up  at  Falkirk, 
and  a  great  many  of  the  country  thereabout  are  contributing  to  it — 
that  the  Lady  Kilmarnock  usually  goes  to  a  meeting-house  of  Mr 
James  Grahame,t  who  is  married  to  her  aunt,  the  late  Earl  of  Linlith- 
'gow's  sister,  but  it  [the  Episcopal  meeting-house]  is  so  distant,  and  she 
was  in  such  hazard  going  to  it  when  last  with  child,  that  she  is  very 
active  to  get  one  near  her.  I  believe  in  all  these,  though  the  people 
who  attend  are  Jacobites,  yet  the  King  is  prayed  for,  and  the  Act  of 
Toleration  is  the  foot  upon  which  they  go.  At  this  rate  we  shall  very 
soon  have  a  general  setting  up  of  meeting -houses  for  the  English  Service, 
and  our  gentry  and  nobility,  who  are  tinctured  with  that  way  by  then- 
being  in  England,  and  the  Jacobites,  who  countenance  them  from  their 
regard  to  Prelacy,  and  to  bring  over  young  gentlemen  to  Jacobitism,  and 
weaken  the  Established  Church  ;  and,  I  fear,  I  may  add  too  many  of 
our  young  bright  hnages,\  as  they  are  railed,  who  are  at  least  ambulatory 

*  This  lady's  lather  was  Janus  Fourth  Earl  of  Callondar,  and  fifth  Earl  of  Lin- 
lithgow, attainted  for  his  connection  with  the  Enterprise  of  1715,  hence  Wodrow'a 
sneer — as  the  calls  herself.  She  married  William  fourth  Earl  of  Kilmarnock,  and  it 
aid  that  she  was  so  zealous  in  favour  of  Prince  Charles  in  174.3,  that  she  never 
give  his  Lordship  rest  till  he  joined  the  Adventurers,  for  which  he  was  beheaded  with 
Lord  Balmerino  in  17-J«i  Her  Ladyship  and  all  her  connections  were  zealots  Epis- 
copalians, bd  the  Earl  of  Kilmarnock  appears  to  have  been  a  Presbyterian.  The 
mansion  of  Ca!l>  mlar  House,  near  Falkirk,  was  then  the  Family  residence. 

t  Thii  gentleman  was  James  Graham,  Esq.  of  A'n-th,  in  the  county  of  Stirling,  i 

mil.  -  beyond  Falkirk,  and  not   far  from  the  Karl's  seat  of  Callendar  House.       If 

lille.l  the  office  of  Jodge> Admiral  of  Scotland  till  his  death  in  1784.  Wodrow  men. 
•ions  him  a,  if  he  had  been  clergj  man  of  the  •'  meeting-house." 

X  This  i.  a  hit  at  en-tain  parties  in  the  Presbyterian  Establishment,  who  enter- 
tained enlightened  news  on  church  matters,  and  were  much  disliked  bj  such  old   . 

■  in. -n  a.  Wodrow,  who  gare  them  the  ridiculous  loubriquel  of  Bright  Tmag\ 


262  HISTORY  OF  THE 

in  the  matter  of  church  government  and  outward  modes  and  circum- 
stances. Laying  all  these  together,  I  fear  a  very  few  years  will  bring 
about  a  terrible  and  fearful  change  in  this  church,  and  the  inclinations 
of  the  most  part  will  be  for  bringing  in  the  English  Services  among  us  ; 
and  some  think,  were  it  not  for  the  listlessness  of  the  English  as  to  any 
worship,  and  their  apprehensions  that  it's  not  safe  at  present  to  break  in 
upon  this  reserved  article  of  the  Union,  we  had  had  Prelacy  and  cere- 
monies among  us  by  this  time.     The  Lord  pity  us  !  "* 

These  admissions  on  the  part  of  Wodrow  are  additional  proofs  that 
the  Presbyterians  by  no  means  considered  their  Establishment  secure, 
and  they  undeniably  indicate  that  in  many  districts  they  were  not  certain 
of  the  attachment  of  the  people.  The  "meeting-houses,"  or  congrega- 
tions of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  were  then  numerous  throughout 
the  kingdom,  and  were  supported  by  persons  of  the  highest  rank  and  in- 
fluence. We  shall  see  that  the  Enterprise  of  1745  was  the  cause  of  a 
heavy  "  discouragement"  to  the  Church,  from  which  it  did  not  recover 
for  upwards  of  half  a  century. 

*  Wodrow's  Analecta,  MS.,  Advocates'  Library. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH, 


263 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


INTERNAL  AFFAIRS  OF  THE  SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH— DEATHS  OF  BISHOP 

i 
GADDERAR,  BISHOP    RATTRAY,    AND  OTHERS— PEACEFUL    AND  PROSPEROUS 

STATE  OF    THE  CHURCH    PREVIOUS  TO    1745 — EPISCOPAL    SYNOD  OF  EDIN- 
BURGH IN  1743—  DISPUTES  ON  THE  CANONS  OF  THAT  SYNOD. 

At  the  signing  of  the  Concordate  in  1732,  nine  diocesan  Bishops  formed 
an  Episcopal  Synod,  of  whom  Bishop  Freebairn  was  Primus  or  presiding 
Bishop.  We  have  seen  that  this  Prelate,  at  the  death  of  Bishop  Lums- 
den  of  Edinburgh  in  the  month  of  July  1733,  was  elected  by  the  presby- 
ters of  that  diocese  as  their  ordinary.  Bishops  Duncan  and  Rose  also 
died  in  1733  ;  but  the  greatest  loss  which  the  Church  sustained  was  the 
death  of  Bishop  Gadderar  of  Aberdeen,  in  the  month  of  February  that 
same  year.  This  highly  respected  and  distinguished  man  conferred  by 
his  strenuous  efforts  and  his  undaunted  perseverance  the  most  important 
benefits  on  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  and  he  had  the  satisfaction 
before  his  death  of  seeing  that  Church  a  well  organized  and  efficient 
communion,  its  clergy  numerous  and  respectable,  and  its  laity  attached 
to  its  interests  by  the  most  zealous  bonds  of  principle  and  affection. 

Bishop  Dunbar,  to  whom  had  been  assigned  the  superintendence  of 
the  Church  in  the  ancient  dioceses  of  Moray  and  Ross,  was  elected  the 
successor  of  Bishop  Gadderar  by  the  presbyters  of  Aberdeen  in  June 
1733.  Be  accepted  the  election,  and  resigned  Moray.  The  Clergy  of 
that  diocese  elocted  the  Rev.  George  Hay  to  be  their  ordinary,  but  he 
died  before  his.  consecration,  and  the  district  remained  vacant  till  1741. 
In  the  year  l?:^.  Bishop  Keith  was   elected  dincoan  by  the   presbyters 

in  the  countj  of  Pifo,  all  of  which  ties  within  the  archiepiecopa]  diocese 


264  HISTORY  OF  THE 

of  St  Andrews,  and  lie  was  connected  with  them  till  1743,  when  he  re- 
signed the  district,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Robert  White,  pres- 
byter at  Cupar-Fife,  who  was  consecrated  at  Carsebank  near  Forfar  by 
Bishops  Rattray,  Dunbar,  and  Keith,  in  1735.  The  districts  of  Caith- 
ness and  Orkney  were  vacant  till  1741,  when,  on  the  10th  of  September, 
the  Rev.  William  Falconer,  presbyter  at  Forres,  who  had  been  duly 
elected  by  the  clergy,  was  consecrated  by  Bishops  Rattray,  Keith,  and 
White.  Bishop  Falconer  was,  however,  elected  by  the  presbyters  of 
Moray  to  be  their  diocesan  in  the  following  year. 

Bishop  Gillan  died  in  1735,  and  Bishop  White  now  mentioned  was 
elected  by  the  presbyters  of  Dunblane  to  be  their  diocesan.  Bishop 
White  was  elected  on  the  18th  of  March,  and  was  consecrated  on  the 
14th  of  June.  The  Primus,  Bishop  Freebairn,  had  issued  his  summons 
to  consecrate  Bishop  White  at  Edinburgh,  but  the  other  Bishops  dis- 
obeyed, and  elevated  the  new  Bishop  to  the  episcopate  at  Carsebank. 
The  reason  for  thus  setting  at  nought  the  will  of  the  Primus  is  thus 
narrated  by  Mr  Skinner  : — "  This  gentleman  [Bishop  Freebairn]  still 
retained  a  tincture  of  the  old  political  leaven,  and  attachment  to  es- 
tablished forms  ;  and  having,  by  means  of  his  son,  who  was  in  great  fa- 
vour abroad,  got  hold  of  some  papers  he  was  fond  of,  he  called  a  meet- 
ing  of  the  Bishops  in  1734  ;  but  they,  suspecting  the  design,  and  not 
choosing  to  be  longer  entangled  with  any  thing  of  that  nature,  declined 
the  meeting,  and  would  not  so  much  as  look  at  his  papers."  Shortly 
after  this  Bishop  Gillan  died,  and  Mr  White  having  been  elected  by  the 
presbyters  of  Dunblane,  the  Primus  was  requested  by  Bishops  Rattray, 
Dunbar,  and  Keith,  to  name  the  day  for  the  consecration  of  the  new 
Bishop.  His  conduct,  however,  excited  their  suspicions,  and  those 
three  Bishops  held  the  consecration  at  Carsebank.  "  This  produced  a 
warm  remonstrance  from  Bishop  Freebairn,  which  was  properly  an- 
swered from  the  other  side  ;  and  some  other  little  differences  ensued  at 
the  instigation  of  Bishop  Ochterlonie,  who  still  sought  to  keep  up  the  di- 
vision, but  they  were  not  of  long  duration,  for  Freebairn  died  in  1739, 
and  Ochterlonie  in  1742." 

No  event  of  any  consequence  occurs  in  the  history  of  the  Scottish 
Episcopal  Church  from  this  period  for  some  time.  After  the  death 
of  Bishop  Freebairn  in  1739,  no  diocesan  was  elected  for  Edinburgh 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOTAL  CHURCH.  265 

till  1776,  and  the  reasons  assigned  for  this  long  vacancy  are  as  contra- 
dictory as  they  are  doubtful.     Externally  the  Church  enjoyed  peace 
and  security.     George  IT.  had  succeeded  his  father  without  any  hostile 
appearance  of  opposition  from  the  old  quarter,  and  as  no  new  provoca- 
tion had  been  given  by  the  adherents  of  the  exiled  dynasty,  the  laws 
were  not  rigorously  enforced  against  them.     The  Presbyterians  had 
too  much  business  of  their  own  on  hand  to  bestow  any  attention  on  the 
affairs  of  Scottish  Episcopacy.     The  contumacious  Seceders  were  now 
giving  them  year  after  year  an  infinitude  of  trouble,  and  dissent  was 
making  rapid  progress  among  them.     Complaints  were  daily  made  of 
the  oppression  of  the  people  by  patronage ;  the  Established  "judicatories" 
were  declared  to  be  "  corrupt ;"  and  a  controversy  was  again  revived  re- 
specting the  doctrines  and  principles  maintained  in  a  work  which  excited 
their  enthusiastic  minds,  bearing  the  extraordinary  title  of  the  Marrow 
of  Modern  Divinity.     Those  Presbyterian  ministers  who  took  an  inte- 
rest in  the  opinions  set  forth  in  that  production  were  known  by  the 
ludicrous  distinction  of  Marrow-Men — a  title  which  they  assumed  them- 
selves.    An  event  also  occurred,  which  was  likely  to  be  attended  with 
serious  consequences  to  some  of  them.    In  1737  the  celebrated  riot  took 
place  in  Edinburgh,  commonly  called  the  Porteous  Mob,  the  history  of 
which  is  well  known.     The  fate  of  the  unhappy  Captain  Porteous,  and 
the  daring  conduct  of  the  mob,  irritated  the  Government,  more  especially 
as  every  attempt  to  discover  the  ringleaders  was  unsuccessful ;  and  a  pro- 
clamation was  issued  to  bring  the  rioters  to  justice,  which  all  the  Esta- 
blished ministers  in  Scotland  were  enjoined  to  read  publicly  from  their 
pulpits  on  the  first  Sunday  of  every  month  throughout  a  whole  year. 
This  excited  the  greatest  clamour,  as  an  extraordinary  and  flagrant  en- 
croachment on  the  liberties  and  independence  of  their  polity.    These  and 
other  subjects  completely  occupied  the  attention  of  the  Establishment, 
while  the   Scottish  Episcopal  Church  was  not  only  enjoying  internal 
peace,  but  a  very   considerable  degree  of  worldly  prosperity  from  the 
signing  of  the  Concordate  to  the  year  1746.     "  During  that  period," 
says  Bishop  Russell,  M  her  clergy  were  numerous,  and  many  of  them 
learned,  whilst  her  chapels  were  frequented  by  all  orders  of  the  people, 
from  the  highest  peer  to  the  lowest  peasant,  even  judges  and  magistrates 
joining  in  her  worship.    Although  the  King  was  not  prayed  for  by  name, 
and  although  by  far  the  greater  number  of  the  clergy  were  attached  to 
the  exiled  prince,  political  opinions  respecting  the  rights  of  the  sovc- 


2tib  HISTORY  OF  THE 

reign  were  at  no  period,  at  least  after  the  extinction  of  the  College 
Party,  made  terms  of  communion.  Some  even  of  the  clergy,  and  in- 
deed one  of  the  most  learned  of  them,  disclaimed  the  very  idea  of  inde- 
feasible hereditary  right,  and  declared  that  they  thought  the  sovereign 
who  afforded  protection  to  the  people  was  in  return  entitled  to  their 
allegiance  and  prayers  ;  but  such  clergymen  were  restrained  from  de- 
viating from  the  general  practice  of  their  fathers  and  brethren  by  the 
Oath  of  Abjuration,  which,  supposing  a  kind  of  right  that,  if  possessed  by 
any  one,  they  could  not  but  think  was  possessed  by  him  whom  they 
were  called  on  to  abjure,  they  could  not  take  ;  and  without  taking  the 
Oath  of  Abjuration  as  well  as  that  of  Allegiance,  the  praying  for  King 
George  by  name  would  have  been  of  no  advantage  to  them  whatever. 
Of  all  this  the  magistrates,  to  whom  was  entrusted  the  execution  of  the 
laws,  were  fully  sensible,  and  therefore  they  seldom  if  ever  enforced  the 
penal  part  of  the  act  of  Queen  Anne."* 

Bishop  Ochterlonie,  who  presided  over  the  clergy  in  the  diocese  of 
Brechin,  died  in  1742,  and  the  presbyters  lost  no  time  in  electing  a  suc- 
cessor. The  Rev.  James  Rait,  presbyter  in  Dundee,  was  chosen,  and 
he  was  consecrated  on  the  4th  of  October  that  year,  by  Bishops  Rat- 
tray, Keith,  and  White.  This  pious  and  worthy  prelate  was  ordained 
deacon  by  Dr  Rose  of  Edinburgh  in  1712,  and  was  admitted  into  priest's 
orders  in  the  following  year.  He  was  personally  known  to  others  of  the 
deprived  Bishops.  The  following  memoranda  of  Bishop  Rait  is  worthy 
of  notice.  He  got  immediate  possession  of  &  parish  church  after  his 
ordination,  "  we  think  the  church  of  Kirriemuir,  and,  though  an  in- 
flexible Nonjuror,  he  kept  possession  of  it  through  the  influence  of  the 
patron,!  and  the  attachment  of  the  parishioners  at  large,  until  the  year 
1716,  but,  as  we  have  repeatedly  heard  him  say,  he  never  received  the 
stipend.  He  was  consecrated  a  Bishop  on  the  4th  of  October  1742,  and 
with  that  good  sense  which  was  the  distinguishing  trait  of  his  character, 

*  Scottish  Episcopal  Magazine  (1821),  vol.  ii.  p.  207. 

f  The  patron  of  the  parish  of  Kirriemuir,  in  the  county  of  Forfar  and  diocese  of 
Brechin,  was  at  that  period  Archibald  third  Marquis  of  Douglas,  born  1694,  and 
created  Duke  of  Douglas,  Marquis  of  Angus  and  Abernethy,  &c  by  patent,  dated 
18th  April  1703.  His  Grace  at  the  period  noticed  in  the  text  was  only  twenty 
years  of  age.  Though  a  zealous  member  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  through- 
out his  valuable  life,  his  Grace  was  a  determined  supporter  of  the  royal  succession 
as  secured  to  the  House  of  Hanover,  and  was  in  arms  as  a  volunteer  at  the  battle  of 
Sheriffmuir  in  171  o. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  267 

he  never  failed  to  declare,  in  the  letters  of  orders  which  he  granted, 
that  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  in  the  ordination  of  his  clergy,  al- 
ways, at  least  since  the  Restoration,  made  use  of  the  English  forms  : — 
'  Omnibus  ubique  Catholicis  per  presentes  pateat,  Nos,  Jacobum  Rait, 
miseratione  divina  Episcopum,  &c.  in  capella  nostra  publica  quaj 
Taoduni  (Dundee)  est — X.  Y.  sacro  diaconatus  ordine  jam  condecora- 
tum — ad  sacrum  presbyteratus  ordinem  promovisse,  et  secundum  morem 
et  ritum  Ecclesice  Anglicance  in  Scotia  hucusque  usitatum  ordinasse,  &c.'"* 
In  the  year  1743  the  Church  sustained  a  severe  loss  by  the  death  of 
Bishop  Rattray  of  Craighall,  diocesan  of  Dunkeld.  He  succeeded  Bi- 
shop Freebairn  as  Primus  in  1739.  He  was  a  man  whom,  as  Mr  Skin- 
ner most  justly  observes,  "  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland  will  long 
look  back  to  with  pleasure,  in  the  grateful  remembrance  of  having  had 
such  a  Bishop,  and  with  a  deep  regret  for  having  been  so  soon  deprived 
of  him."  The  venerable  writer  commemorated  the  death  of  this  worthy 
Bishop  in  some  Latin  verses  published  in  the  third  volume  of  his  post- 
humous works,  and  Dr  Drummond  of  Losfie-Almond  rendered  his  tri- 
bute  of  respect  and  affection  in  an  English  poem  which  appeared  at  the 
time.  The  literary  works  of  Bishop  Rattray  evince  his  orthodox  prin- 
ciples and  his  scholastic  attainments.  In  the  year  1728  he  published 
an  "  Essay  on  the  Nature  of  the  Church,  and  a  Review  of  the  Election 
of  Bishops  in  the  Primitive  Church,  together  with  some  annexed  Dis- 
sertations." In  1744  his  family  published  his  most  esteemed  work,  en- 
titled, "  The  Ancient  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  Jerusalem,  being  the 
Liturgy  of  St  James,  freed  from  all  latter  Additions  and  Interpolations 
of  whatever  kind,  and  so  restored  to  its  original  purity,  by  comparing  it 
with  the  account  of  that  Liturgy  by  St  Cyril  in  his  fifth  mystagogical 
Catechism,  and  with  the  Clementine  Liturgy,  &c,  with  an  English 
translation  and  notes  ;  as  also  an  Appendix,  containing  some  other  an- 
cient  Prayers,  of  all  which  an  account  is  given  in  the  Preface."  In 
1718  there  appeared  **  Some  Particular  Instructions  concerning  the 
Christian  Covenant,  and  the  Mysteries  by  which  it  is  transacted  and 
maintained,  collected  from  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  and  earliest  Writers 
of  the  Christian  Church,  and  from  approved  Divines  of  the  Church  oi 
England."     We  are  told  by  one  of  his  distinguished  successors  in  tho 

•   Scottish  Episcopal  Magsjone  (1821),  vol.  ii.  p.  185. 


268  HISTORY  OF  THE 

episcopate — "  Bishop  Rattray's  printed  works  sufficiently  show  his 
learning,  which  in  theology  was  held  in  the  highest  estimation  by  his 
ecclesiastical  contemporaries  both  in  England  and  in  Scotland,  with 
whom  his  epistolary  correspondence  was  very  extensive.  Many  of  his 
letters,  sermons,  and  dissertations,  yet  remain  in  manuscript,  most  of 
which  display  much  reading  and  sound  judgment."* 

Bishop  Rattray  was  succeeded  as  Primus  by  Bishop  Keith,  who  about 
the  same  time  resigned  the  diocesan  superintendence  of  Fife,  and  Bi- 
shop White  was  transferred  from  the  diocese  of  Dunblane  to  this  charge. 
Meanwhile  the  clergy  of  Dunkeld,  having  obtained  a  mandate  for  that 
purpose,  met  and  elected  the  Rev.  John  Alexander,  presbyter  at  Alloa, 
to  be  their  diocesan  in  the  room  of  Bishop  Rattray,  and  he  was  conse- 
crated at  Edinburgh,  on  the  9th  of  August  1743,  by  Bishops  Keith, 
White,  Falconer,  and  Rait.  As  five  Bishops  were  present  at  this 
consecration,  a  meeting  was  subsequently  held  of  the  Episcopal  College  ; 
and,  on  the  motion  of  Bishop  Dunbar,  they  resolved  to  constitute  them- 
selves a  regular  synod — Bishop  Keith  being  Primus,  and  Bishop  Alex- 
ander acting  as  clerk.  Certain  canons,  drawn  up  by  Bishop  Rattray, 
and  suitable  to  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  Church,  were  taken 
into  consideration,  and  ratified,  with  the  addition  of  six  others,  in  all 
amounting  to  sixteen. 

These  canons  embodied  all  the  articles  of  the  Concordate  respecting 
the  internal  government  of  the  Church,  regulating  the  election  and  of- 
ficial duties  of  the  Primus,  and  the  mode  of  electing  Bishops  to  vacant 
dioceses  by  the  Presbyters.  The  fourth  canon  declares — "  That  upon  the 
demise  or  translation  of  any  Bishop,  the  presbyters  of  the  district  there- 
by become  vacant  shall  not  be  at  freedom  either  to  elect,  or  entrust 
themselves  to  another  Bishop  without  a  mandate  from  the  Primus,  with 
the  majority  of  the  Bishops  ;  but  if  the  Primus  shall  refuse  to  grant  a 
mandate,  the  majority  may  do  it  without  him."  The  fifth  canon  re- 
quires the  person  elected  to  be  sanctioned  by  a  majority  of  the  Bishops, 
who  are  entitled  to  reject  him  on  sufficient  grounds,  and  to  require  the 
presbyters  to  proceed  to  another  election.  The  sixth  relates  to  the 
office  of  Dean,  defining  the  duties  and  communication  with  the  Primus 

*  Edition  of  Keith's  Catalogue  of  Scottish  Bishops,  by  Bishop  Russell,  p.  537, 
538,  539. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  2(59 

at  the  death  or  translation  of  the  Bishop ;  and  the  seventh  declares  that 
the  episcopal  duties  of  a  vacant  diocese  shall  devolve  upon  the  Bishop 
whose  place  of  residence  is  nearest  to  the  diocese  until  an  election  take 
place,  and  that  in  those  temporary  circumstances,  if  cases  of  discipline 
occur,  these  shall  be  referred  to  the  decision  of  the  Primus  and  a  ma- 
jority of  his  colleagues.  The  eighth  enjoins  letters  testimonial  when 
any  of  the  clergy  remove  from  one  diocese  to  another,  and  prohibits  the 
ordination  of  any  one  as  a  presbyter  who  has  no  designation  to  a  parti- 
cular charge.  The  ninth  enacts — "  That  seeing,  in  the  present  dis- 
tressed state  of  this  Church,  it  may  happen  that  a  Bishop  may  have  his 
dwelling  and  place  of  worship  within  the  district  of  another  Bishop,  in 
that  case  those  who  belong  to  this  his  congregation,  together  with  the 
presbyters  or  deacons  joined  with  him  s as  his  assistants  in  officiating 
therein,  shall  be  as  much  under  his  jurisdiction  as  if  they  were  within 
the  bounds  of  his  own  district,  and  shall  be  exempt  from  the  jurisdiction 
of  that  Bishop  within  the  bounds  of  whose  district  they  are  ;  and  the 
Bishop  in  whose  district  they  are  shall,  by  a  subscribed  deed,  agree  to 
this  regulation."  The  other  canons,  which  are  all  excellent,  judicious, 
and  embodying  the  principles  of  Primitive  Episcopacy,  refer  to  various 
matters  connected  with  the  internal  government,  discipline,  and  prac- 
tice of  the  Church. 

It  appears  that  when  these  canons  were  promulgated  by  the  Episcopal 
Synod  to  the  clergy,  some  of  those  in  Edinburgh,  who  had  one  of  their 
own  number  in  view  to  be  elected  their  diocesan,  and  who  they  knew  would 
not  be  acceptable  to  the  Bishops,  objected  to  the  canon  which  regulated 
the  election  of  Bishops  as  infringing  on  their  rights  of  election.  They 
also  complained  that  several  of  the  other  canons  curtailed  the  powers  of 
their  Ordinary  as  Bishop  of  Edinburgh.  A  regular  controversy,  or 
rather  a  series  of  remonstrances  from  the  presbyters  of  Edinburgh,  en- 
sued, which,  though  without  the  acrimony  exhibited  when  the  College 
Party  agitated  the  Church,  is  not  without  interest,  especially  as  con- 
nected witli  a  project  for  bringing  Bishop  Smith,  a  Nonjuror  from 
England,  into  Scotland,  in  opposition  to  the  warnings  of  the  Scottish 
Bishops.  These  documents  are  in  a  MS.  volume,  entitled,  "  Disputes 
of  the  Episcopalians,"  preserved  ill  the  Library  of  the  Faculty  of  Ad- 
vocates at  Edinburgh. 

The  exposition  of  the  view-  of  the  Presbyters  is  dated  Edinburgh, 


270  HISTORY  OF  THE 

January  17,  1744,  and  is  thus  addressed:—''  To  the  Right  Reverend 
the  Bishops  of  the  Churches  in  Scotland,  the  Presbyters  of  the  Diocese 
of  Edinburgh  send  greeting  : — 

"  Being  convened  here  in  virtue  of  a  letter  from  our  reverend  and 
much  respected  brother,  Mr  Thomas  Auchinleck,  now  the  senior  pres- 
byter in  Edinburgh,  there  was  read  to  us  a  letter  of  the  5th  of  Decem- 
ber, directed  to  him  by  the  Right  Reverend  Bishop  Keith,  importing 
that  your  Reverences  had  lately  held  a  Synod,  wherein  you  had  esta- 
blished several  canons  relating  to  the  several  dioceses,  or,  as  you  are 
pleased  to  call  them,  districts  of  this  Church,  whether  full  or  vacant, 
and  particularly  one  relating  to  this  diocese  or  district  of  Edinburgh, 
whereby  your  Primus  is  appointed  to  write  to  the  senior  Presbyter,  to 
convocate  us  for  choosing  a  Dean  who  is  to  represent  us  in  all  synodical 
meetings,  by  sitting  with  your  Reverences,  to  propose  and  reason  in  all 
matters  of  discipline  and  grievances  of  presbyters,  but  not  to  give  any 
decisive  voice  ;  and,  last  of  all,  we  are  allowed  to  call  for  a  copy  of  the 
minutes  of  your  said  Synod  either  from  your  Primus  or  clerk,  and  ac- 
cordingly a  copy  was  laid  before  us,  transcribed  by  one  of  our  brethren 
from  an  authentic  duplicate  in  the  hands  of  Bishop  Keith. 

"  We  shall  not  at  present  trouble  your  Reverences  with  remarks  upon 
your  canons  any  further  than  they  concern  ourselves,  and  even  that 
would  not  have  been  our  choice,  but  that  the  necessity  you  have  put 
us  under  would  make  our  silence  sinful ;  for  it  is  with  grief  of  heart  we 
find  ourselves  obliged  to  complain  of  the  proceedings  of  those  whom  by 
principle  and  inclination  we  are  much  disposed  to  love  and  obey.  But 
while  we  honour  your  sacred  office,  and  do  not  at  all  envy  you  the  dig- 
nity to  which  you  have  attained,  we  cannot  be  quite  unconcerned  for 
the  rights  of  our  own  lower  order,  when  we  see  designs  forming  to  in- 
vade those  rights,  or  threaten  them  with  danger.  This  concern,  we 
humbly  conceive,  cannot  be  displeasing  to  your  Reverences,  if  it  is  con- 
sidered only  as  an  imitation  of  that  zeal  to  preserve  those  rights  which 
some  of  your  venerable  number  showed  when  ye  were  with  us  ;  nor  can 
we  think  it  less  incumbent  upon  us  to  watch  over  this  sacred  depositum, 
that  we  have  now,  by  what  means  we  shall  not  say,  been  long  kept  in  a 
state  of  orphancy  without  the  guidance  and  protection  of  a  proper  head, 
when,  like  the  clergy  of  Rome  (during  the  vacancy  of  that  see) — incum- 
bat   nobis   qui   videmur  propositi   esse   vice  pastoris   custodire   gregem. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  271 

As  we  humbly  apprehend  the  constitution  of  a  Christian  Church  is 
a  thing  so  sacred  and  so  determined,  that  it  cannot  be  new  modelled  or 
altered  in  essentials  upon  every  revisal  made  of  it  by  any  one  of  its  con- 
stituent parts,  so  it  is  no  more  competent  to  your  high  order  to  abolish 
the  presbyterate  than  it  is  in  our  power  to  renounce  or  withhold  that 
canonical  obedience  we  owe  to  our  Bishops,  so  it  appears  to  us  (from  our 
histories,  from  our  records,  from  our  laws  of  the  kingdom,  establishing 
episcopacy,  from  the  writings  of  some  of  our  most  judicious  divines,  and 
from  the  testimony  of  some  of  our  brethren  yet  living,  who  saw  the 
Church  in  vigour,  and  were  eye-witnesses  of  her  good  order  and  go- 
vernment), that  by  the  constitution  of  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Scot- 
land, the  presbyters  did  sit  in  Synods  and  Church  Assemblies  with 
their  Bishops,  not  barely  to  hear  and  propose,  but  to  reason  and  repre- 
sent, that  they  had  authoritative  voices,  and  voted  decisively  in  whatso- 
ever question  came  before  them  : — that  not  only  the  Deans  and  other 
dignitaries  of  each  diocese  came  to  those  assemblies  in  their  own  right, 
but  the  rural  clergy  were  duly  represented  there  by  some  of  their  own 
number,  chosen  by  themselves,  and  sent  thither  on  that  purpose,  whose 
votes  were  numbered  with  the  rest : — and,  in  short,  that  the  powers  of 
legislation  and  discipline  were  not  then  thought  to  have  been  lodged  in 
the  Bishops  alone,  without  the  advice  and  concurrence  of  their  clergy. 

"  As  this  privilege  of  the  second  order  has  been  long  struggled  for  in 
other  Churches,  even  where  papal  encroachments  went  high,  and  as  it 
is  still  preserved  by  our  sister  Church  of  England,  where  nothing  can 
have  the  force  of  a  canon,  or  regularly  pass  into  ecclesiastical  law,  with- 
out the  consent  of  presbyters,  and  where  each  house  of  convocation  has 
a  negative  upon  the  other,  so  we  humbly  think  it  would  be  rather  su- 
perfluous than  difficult  to  show,  that  all  this  is  copied  from  the  primitive 
pattern,  and  is  well  consistent  with  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  with  the  con- 
stitution and  practice  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  her  purest  and  best 
ages.  To  make  this  appear  would  be  do  hard  task  ;  but  we  do  not 
imagine  jroui  Reverences  need  any  such  ecclaircis>einent,  or  that  you  will 
mr  let  us  to  prove  that  the  Church  whereof  you  aro  chief  officers,  and 
from  which  you  derive  your  orders,  was  a  Christian  Church,  sound  and 
well  constituted,  or,  in  other  words,  that  she  was  not  blemished  with 
any  such  gTOtfl  fundamental  error  or  defect  as  affected  her  essentials — 
the  verv  vitals  of  religion,  which,  we  humbly  apprehend,  is  the  only  care 


212  HISTORY  OF  THE 

can  warrant  a  reform  of  her  model  in  our  present  circumstances,  when 
so  much  dangers  must  attend  every  material  alteration  of  her  polity  as 
well  as  doctrine  or  worship.  The  constitution  of  our  Church  thus  ap- 
pearing to  us  to  be  regular  and  right,  and  well  founded,  we  humbly 
conceive  that  we  are  obliged  in  conscience,  in  virtue  of  the  duty  we 
owe  to  God  and  his  Church,  to  your  Reverences,  to  ourselves,  and  to 
all  them  who  may  succeed  us  in  the  second  order,  earnestly  to  beg  you 
would  stop  all  further  innovation  of  any  sort,  and  particularly  all  en- 
croachments upon  the  rights  and  privileges  of  our  second  order,  or 
whatever  may  tend  to  subverting  that  good  and  wholesome  constitution  ; 
for  we  humbly  conceive  the  case  is  the  same  in  bodies  mystical  and 
politic  as  in  the  natural  body,  that  when  the  constitution  is  once 
broken,  if  it  is  not  soon  repaired  by  immediate  care  and  proper  applica- 
tion, nothing  but  languishing  and  death  is  like  to  ensue.  This  being 
our  constitution,  and  considering  that  you  have  proceeded  single  and 
alone  to  hold  a  Synod,  wherein  you  have  made  or  ratified  several  ca- 
nons, and  treated  and  concluded  in  matters  of  legislation  and  discipline 
relating  to  the  whole  Church,  notwithstanding  the  presbyters  of  Scot- 
land were  not  represented  there,  nor  were  called  to  take  that  place  which 
belongs  to  them  in  Synods  and  Assemblies  of  the  Church.  This  being 
the  hard  case,  we  do  earnestly  beg  your  Reverences  will  consider  seri- 
ously what  must  be  the  fatal  consequence  ;  whether  laws  and  constitu- 
tions can  be  submitted  to  where  the  legislature  was  uncomplete,  or  if 
they  should  be  submitted  to,  whether  the  constitution  of  the  Church 
would  not  thereby  receive  a  deep  wound. 

"  Having  thus  declared  in  general  our  humble  opinion  that  the  ca- 
nons of  the  late  Synod  cannot  be  obligatory  upon  the  members,  either 
clergy  or  laity,  of  this  Church,  as  being  destitute  of  a  proper  sanction, 
while  they  are  without  the  advice  and  approbation  of  the  majority  of  the 
integral  parts  of  our  constitution,  it  is  with  reluctancy  we  must  now  de- 
scend to  an  examination,  which  we  find  no  less  liable  to  exception  than 
they  are  in  gross,  and  on  account  of  the  stinted  authority  of  which  they 
stand  enacted  :  but  in  this  particular  we  shall  but  gently  touch  a  few  in- 
stances by  which  we  think  ourselves  most  injured,  and  the  peace  or  being 
of  our  Church  most  endangered.  Your  ninth  canon  is — '  That,  seeing  in 
the  present  distressed  state  of  this  Church,  it  may  happen  that  a  Bishop 
shall  have  his  dwelling  and  place  for  public  worship  within  the  district 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  273 

of  another  Bishop  ;  in  that  case  those  who  belong  to  this  his  congrega- 
tion, together  with  the  presbyters  or  deacons  joined  with  him  as  his 
assistants  officiating  therein,  shall  be  as  much  under  his  jurisdiction  as 
if  they  were  within  the  bounds  of  his  own  district,  and  shall  be  exempt 
from  the  jurisdiction  of  that  Bishop  within  the  bounds  of  whose  district 
they  are.'  As  this  Canon  seems  chiefly  intended  for  serving  a  particular 
purpose  in  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  where,  if  it  should  take  effect,  our 
Bishop,  when  God  shall  bless  us  with  one,  would  be  robbed  of  a  part  of 
his  flock  and  a  considerable  number  of  his  clergy,  and  all  the  refugees 
from  his  discipline  would  take  shelter  under  the  patronage  of  the  ex- 
empt Bishop,  as  on  all  those  accounts  we  fiud  it  incumbent  upon  us, 
in  our  present  circumstances,  to  guard  against  it,  so  we  humbly  conceive 
it  is  directly  repugnant  to  the  plan  of  Primitive  Episcopacy,  to  the  po- 
lity and  canons  of  the  ancient  Church,  which,  instead  of  encouraging  one 
Bishop  to  have  his  place  of  residence  and  public  worship  within  the 
diocese  of  another,  forbade  and  condemned  non-residence,  declared  there 
would  bo  but  one  Bishop  in  one  city,  and  piously  believed  that  as  there 
is  but  oik'  God,  one  Christ  the  Lord,  and  one  Holy  Ghost,  so  there 
ought  to  be  one  Bishop  in  a  Catholic  Church.  When  your  Reverences 
have  thus  altered  the  shape  of  Episcopal  government,  and  struck  at  the 
rights  of  your  own  order,  we  need  not  be  surprised  at  the  little  regard 
showed  for  those  of  ours.  We  are  assured  some  years  ago  that  the 
presbyters  of  a  vacant  diocese  had  inherent  rights  and  privileges,  as 
those  of  Rome  had  during  the  long  vacancy  of  that  See  after  the  mar- 
tyrdom of  Fabian — that  it  belonged  to  them  to  elect  their  own  Bishop — 
that  the  v  might  of  themselves  meet  for  that  purpose  as  well  as  any  other — 
and  that  a  mandate  from  the  metropolitan,  or  Bishop  of  the  province, 
was  not  necessary  unless  the  presbyters  proved  backward  in  the  matter  ; 
but  now  we  are  told  the  contrary,  for  your  Third  Canon  decrees — J  That 
if  any  Bishop  shall  lay  claim  to  any  metropolitan  or  vicarial  power,  he 
shall  be  suspended  from  all  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  even  within  his  own 
district,  until  he  renounce  that  claim,  being  what  may  prove  of  most 
dangerous  consequence  to  the  Church  in  the  present  circumstances.' 

And  yet,  for  what  appears   to  us,    excepting  these   alterations  your  He 

rerencea  have  made,  the  circumstanced  of  our  Church  aro  much  the 
same  thej  wen  about  seventeen  years  ago,  when  you  declared,  in  like 

solemn  manner,  thai  no  Lr<»<>d  order  or  unity  could  he  maintained  in  the 

s 


274  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Church  without  a  metropolitan.  We  would  have  taken  no  notice  of 
this  if  jour  Third  Canon  were  not  intended  to  give  a  secret  blow  to  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  See  of  Edinburgh,  whereof  we  humbly  think 
ourselves  guardians  during  the  vacancy.  By  your  Fourth,  Fifth,  and 
Seventh  Canons  it  is  decreed — '  That  upon  the  demise  or  translation  of 
any  Bishop,  the  presbyters  of  the  district  thereby  become  vacant  shall 
not  be  at  freedom  either  to  elect  or  submit  themselves  to  any  other 
Bishop  without  a  mandate  from  the  Primus,  with  the  majority  of.  the 
Bishops  : — that,  if  they  happen  to  elect  a  presbyter,  of  whose  fitness  for 
that  offi.ce  the  Bishops  shall  declare  they  have  sufficient  reasons  not  to 
be  satisfied,  in  this  case  the  presbyters  shall  be  required  by  the  Bishops 
to  proceed  to  a  new  election  ;  and  that  during  the  vacancy  of  any  dis- 
trict the  presbyters  thereof  shall  apply  to  the  Bishop  who  shall  have 
his  place  of  residence  nearest  to  them  for  the  performing  of  episcopal 
offices  amongst  them,  and  no  other  Bishop  shall  take  upon  him  to  per- 
form any  such  offices  within  that  district  without  the  consent  of  the 
neighbouring  Bishop.'  By  these  ordinances,  and  the  one  referred  to 
in  the  beginning  of  this  paper,  we  humbly  conceive  the  rights  of  our 
order  are  stripped  to  a  shadow,  and  our  privileges  greatly  shortened  of 
what  your  Reverences  thought  once  they  should  be.  We  might  then 
meet  and  elect  a  Bishop  without  waiting  for  leave  from  the  metropoli- 
tan, but  now  we  must  not  without  a  mandate  from  your  temporary  Pri- 
mus. The  semblance  of  power  still  left  us  to  choose  our  Bishop  is  made 
void  and  elusory,  while  your  Reverences  have  reserved  for  yourselves  a 
faculty  of  rejecting  our  elect  without  giving  us  a  reason,  only  telling 
us  you  have  reasons  that  satisfy  yourselves  ;  and  thus  we  must  be  sent 
to  elect  over  and  over  again,  till  we  come  to  the  happy  favourite  who 
may  be  most  acceptable  to  your  Reverences,  though  perhaps  least  fit  for 
us  and  for  the  purposes  of  his  high  calling,  unless  we  should  happen, 
like  a  staunch  jury,  still  to  return  the  same  verdict.  And  as  you  have 
thus  endeavoured  to  straiten  our  access  to  a  proper  Ordinary,  so  have 
you  made  our  state  of  orphancy  still  more  comfortless,  depending,  and 
perplexed,  by  your  transferring  the  care  of  the  vacant  districts,  which  in 
ancient  times  belonged  to  the  metropolitan,  to  the  neighbouring  Bishop, 
the  design  whereof  is  so  obvious  that  we  need  make  no  remarks,  fur- 
ther than  to  assure  your  Reverences  that  it  has  but  a  poor  chance  to 
answer  the  expectation  of  the  contriver.    Though,  indeed,  it  looks  some- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  275 

what  odd  and  designing  that,  while  we  seem  to  be  left  in  possession  of 
the  privilege  to  choose  our  Ordinal* j,  we  should  have  no  power  to  choose 
whom  of  your  venerable  number  we  may  incline  to  apply  to  for  Episco- 
pal offices  during  the  vacancy  ;  and,  to  complete  this  new  scheme  of  ec- 
clesiastical polity,  our  second  order,  which  in  former  times  had  a  right 
to  sit  and  vote  in  assemblies  of  the  Church,  not  only  by  Deans  and 
other  dignified  persons,  but  by  the  proctors  of  the  inferior  clergy,  in  pro- 
portion to  their  numbers  and  the  extent  of  each  diocese,  is  henceforth 
to  be  represented  in  your  future  Synods  by  one  cypher,  a  mere  titular 
Dean,  who  may  hear  and  speak,  but  is  by  no  means  to  be  allowed  the 
privilege  of  voting.  Of  this  we  have  already  declared  our  sentiments. 
Thus  we  have  adventured,  as  we  thought  ourselves  obliged  to  give  your 
Reverences  our  sentiments  of  the  matters  before  us,  and  to  make  a 
stand  for  the  rights  of  our  order  and  the  peace  of  the  Church,  not  for 
ourselves  only,  but  in  name  of  all  our  fellow  presbyters  in  Scotland,  who 
are  equally  concerned,  and  will  therefore  adhere  to  us,  that  you  may  be 
acquainted  with  our  judgment  on  these  important  subjects,  since  you 
have  given  us  no  opportunity  to  declare  it  in  a  more  proper  way.  We 
hope  your  Reverences  will  not  think  us  Presbyterians  for  affirming  the 
just  rights  of  the  second  order.  Some  of  the  greatest  men  our  island 
has  produced  were  of  the  same  sentiments,  and  the  best  of  our  Kings, 
who  died  a  martyr  for  the  Church,  came  to  find  too  late  that  a  mo- 
derate Episcopacy  was  the  best. 

"  We  solemnly  declare,  before  God  and  the  world,  that  we  have  no 
intention  nor  desire  to  restrain  the  just  powers,  or  to  invade  the  due  pri- 
vileges, of  your  sacred  order,  as  we  dare  not  surrender  those  of  our  own, 
being  sensible  that  encroachments  from  either  side  would  be  equally 
fatal  to  the  Church,  as  equally  endangering  her  constitution. 

"  Finding  ourselves  engaged  to  write  to  persons  of  your  great  learn- 
ing, we  thought  it  unnecessary  to  lengthen  this  paper  by  bringing  the 
proper  Touchers  of  what  we  have  said  ;  but  if  your  Reverences  shall  think 
it  needful,  we  are  ready  to  bring-  them  forth  on  the  shortest  warning. 
As  this  humble  address  and  memorial  is  well  meant,  we  hope  your  Re- 
ferences will  take  it  in  good  part.  It  is  still  in  your  power  to  restore 
peace  and  honour  to  this  distressed  Church,  bj  agreeing  to  let  her  po- 
lity stand  upon  the  old  true  foundation. 

■•  We  Bhall  QOl  cease  to  praj  that  Cod  may  grant  peace  and  truth  in 


27G  HISTORY  OF  THE 

our  days,  and  that  all  the  members  of  this  Church,  of  whatever  order, 
may  be  endowed  with  that  wisdom  which  is  from  above — which  is  first 
pure,  then  peaceable,  gentle,  and  easy  to  be  entreated,  full  of  mercy  and 
good  works,  without  partiality,  and  without  hypocrisy.  As  we  have 
just  regard  for  our  brother,  Mr  Thomas  Auchinleck,  and  as  your  Re- 
verences seem  to  point  at  him  in  your  canons,  and  by  Bishop  Keith's 
letter,  we  have  chosen  him  to  preside  in  our  meeting  ;  but  that  we  may 
copy  as  nigh  as  possible  your  worthy  example,  we  have  chosen  him  our 
moderator  only  pro  tempore,  and  during  pleasure  ;  and,  therefore,  to  as- 
sure your  Reverences  that  this  present  deed  contains  the  sentiments  of 
our  hearts,  which  by  the  grace  of  God  we  are  resolved  not  to  depart 
from,  it  is  subscribed  not  only  by  our  Preses,  but  by 

"  The  names  of  the  subscribers  are, — Thomas  Auchinleck,  Moderator. 
Alex.  Robertson,  Clerk.  Alex.  Hunter.  Alex.  M'Kenzie.  Da.  Rae. 
Henry  Fowlis.  Ja.  M'Kenzie.  Ja.  Windgate.  Jo.  Addison.  Jo.  M'Ken- 
zie. Jos.  Robertson.  Tho.  Drummond.  Tho,  Wilkie.  Will.  Forbes.  Will. 
Harper.    Will.  Law.    Robert  Blair." 

No  observations  are  necessary  respecting  the  foregoing  document. 
As  it  respects  Bishop  Smith,  the  following  letter  addressed  to  him  by 
Bishop  Keith,  dated  May  22,  1744,  completely  explains  the  projects  he 
and  some  of  the  Edinburgh  presbyters  had  in  view  : — 

"  Right  Reverend  Brother, — At  your  desire  I  saw  the  letter  of 
April  2,  which  you  sent  to  the  Reverend  Mr  John  M'Kenzie  of  this 
city.  I  thank  you  for  the  favour,  although  I  can't  but  acknowledge  the 
contents  did  surprise  me  not  a  little.  The  suppositions  you  are  pleased 
to  frame  to  yourself,  and  the  things  which  you  say  that  you  see  in  our 
late  minutes,  my  most  inward  conscience  knows  to  be  altogether  ground- 
less. I  am  sorry  to  find  you  forming  a  resolution  to  set  forward  an  illi- 
cit consecration  in  this  country,  and  thereby  to  raise  a  most  horrid 
schism  in  this  free  and  independent  Church,  for  no  cause  whatsoever 
that  any  indifferent  persons  even  in  your  own  country  will  be  able,  I 
dare  presume,  to  discern.  I  can  assure  you  there  is  neither  any  altera- 
tion intended  here  in  the  public  worship,  nor  is  there  any  complaint 
in  all  this  kingdom  upon  that  score,  except,  perhaps,  by  the  seditious  of 
Edinburgh,  who,  under  that  sculk,  are  fond  to  palliate  their  old  rancour, 
envy,  and  hatred  of  us  Bishops.   They  will  not  venture,  I  suppose,  to  hold 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  277 

up  their  hands  and  take  the  great  omniscient  Being  to  witness,  who 
knows  and  searches  their  hearts,  that  the  case  of  either  the  English  or  the 
Scotch  Liturgy  is  the  true  cause  of  their  quarrel  with  us ;  otherwise, 
how  should  it  come  to  pass  that  all  and  every  one  of  them  have  admi- 
nistered the  holy  eucharist  by  the  Scotch  Liturgy  only,  or  by  some  ad- 
dition,  diminution,  or  transposition  in  the  English  Office,  and  this  of 
their  own  accord,  without  any  force  or  persuasion  whatsoever  ?     Must 
not,  then,  their  application  to  you  proceed  from  some  other  secret  foun- 
tain, and  tend  towards  a  different  view  than  what  they  suffer  you  to  dis- 
cern ?    They  want  to  wrest  the  Episcopate  from  us,  and  to  obtain  this 
they  are  willing  to  purchase  your  assistance  at  any  rate — an  assistance 
which  I  humbly  think  you  ought  not  to  send  them,  as  you  will  be  an- 
swerable to  Almighty  God  for  the  many  unhappy  consequences  that  must 
inevitably  follow  upon  it ;  for,  do  you  think,  my  dear  brother,  that  your 
intermeddling  in  our  affairs  will  create  peace  amongst  us  ?     No,  by  no 
means,  but  rather  strife,  contention,  and  every  evil  work.    And  will  not 
this  prove  a  melancholy  reflection  to  you  at  the  last,  especially  since  ye 
have  neither  just  call  nor  title  to  mix  in  our  Church  ?     No  person  could 
speak  more  strongly  against  such  a  practice  than  you  have  done  in  your 
letters  both  to  Bishop  Gillan  and  me,  excerpts  from  which  (lest  ye  keep 
not  copies)  I  here  send  you,  and  therefore  I  would  fain  hope  you  will 
still  conform  yourself  to  your  former  sober  and  sage  declarations.     Let 
not,  I  beseech  you,   the  fallacious  representations  of  designing   men 
(however  varnished  over)  so  far  prevail  with  you  as  to  kiudle  such  a 
flame  in  your  neighbour's  house  as  may  not  only  consume  him  but  your- 
self also.  Hitherto  we  have  lived  in  good  correspondence  with  the  Church 
of  England.    We  have  declined,  when  solicited,  to  act  the  part  which 
you  now  threaten  us  with,  as  you  yourself  may  very  well  know.  We  have 
always  looked  upon  her  as  a  sister  Church,  and  we  desire  still  to  con- 
tinue in  communion  and  fellowship  with  her.     Her  Liturgy  was  never 
prohibited  in  this  country,  but  always  allowed  ;  nor,  as  1  wrote  you  on 
the  13th  December  last,  shall  any  clergyman  here  receive  any  molesta 
tion  upon  account  of  his  using  it,  as  it  is  most  certain  that  no  person  has 
to  this  day  suffered  the   smallest  frown  upon  that  head.     May  not  I, 
then,  as  a  brother,  as  a  friend,  as  a  neighbour,  obtest  you.  and  even  ex- 
pect, that  ye  will  desist  from   this  unwary  enterprise  ;  but  if  ye  needs 
must  proceed  in  bo  unjustifiable  a  >tq>,  I  believe  I  may  assure  you,  OD 


278  HISTORY  OF  THE 

very  good  ground,  that  the  very  name  of  a  stranger  Bishop  coming  to 
meddle  in  our  matters  in  so  extraordinary  a  manner  will  ruin  the  cause 
you  would  wish  to  support  more  than  anything  you  could  devise  ;  and  I 
am  even  suspicious  that  your  overdoing  at  this  time  by  your  letters  will 
keep  your  point  at  a  greater  distance  than  if  ye  had  said  less  upon  the 
head.  People  don't  like  to  be  imperiously  dealt  by.  Thus,  dear  Sir,  I 
have  discharged  the  duty  I  thought  incumbent  on  me,  as  bearing,  though 
unworthy,  the  same  sacred  character  with  yourself ;  and  God  grant  that 
both  you  and  I  may  so  demean  ourselves  in  our  office,  that  when  the 
chief  Shepherd  shall  appear  we  may  receive  some  approbation  from 
him. 

"  I  had  almost  forgot  to  set  you  at  rights  in  a  point  of  fact.  All  the 
ordinations  of  our  Scotch  clergymen  have  not  been  performed  by  the 
English  ordinal  since  the  Restoration  of  King  Charles  II.  ;  for  I  have 
in  my  possession  just  now  an  original  act  of  ordination,  performed  at 
Edinburgh,  anno  1680,  secundum  morem  et  ritum  Ecclesice  Scoticance, 
which  act  I  intend  to  put  into  the  Royal  Register  of  this  kingdom,  and 
you  may  procure  an  extract  of  it  from  thence  when  you  please. 

"  Together  with  the  excerptions,  I  send  you  copies  of  two  or  three 
other  papers  ;*  and  I  am  ready  enough  to  natter  myself  that  disinterested 
persons  will  give  attention  to  such  solemn  declarations. — I  am,  dear  Sir, 
your  affectionate  brother  and  most  humble  servant, 

"  Robert  Keith." 

Bishop  Smith's  conduct  seems  to  have  elicited  the  following  declara- 
tion, signed  by  Bishop  Keith,  and  transmitted  to  his  Right  Reverend 
Brethren  for  their  concurrence,  dated  July  12,  1744: — 

"  Imo,  Whereas,  by  the  Preface  to  Bishop  Rattray's  Ten  Canons,  pass- 
ed and  ratified  in  our  Synod  holden  at  Edinburgh  in  the  month  of 
August  1744,  it  is  represented,  that  the  Bishops  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land being  now  by  the  good  providence  of  God  perfectly  united  in  one 
and  the  same  mind,  and  that  Concordates  which  were  framed  while  some 
unhappy  differences  subsisted  among  them  are  thereby  vacated,  we  hereby 
declare  that  this  expression  (which,  together  with  the  whole  Preface,  was 

*  u  These  were  Bishop  Keith's  Declaration,  April  7  ;  Bishop  Dunbar's  letter  to 
Bishop  Keith,  April  28  ;  and  Bishop  Alexander's  letter  to  Bishop  Keith,  May  14, 
1744." 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  279 

the  work  of  Bishop  Rattray),  as  well  as  the  Canons  themselves,  regards 
only  the  Concorclates  being  vacated  through  the  total  demise  of  one 
party  of  those  Bishops,  who  contracted  and  concurred  in  framing  the 
Concordates  ;  but  that  it  never  was  intended  (as  some  persons  have 
suspected)  to  prohibit  or  restrict  the  use  of  the  English  Liturgy  in  this 
kingdom.  So  far  from  this,  that  we  declare  the  use  of  this  Liturgy 
has  been  and  shall  be  as  free  to  any  presbyter  that  chooses  to  minister 
by  it,  as  it  was  and  has  been  at  any  time  by  virtue  of  the  Concordates. 

"  2do,  We  declare  that  we  are  in  full  communion  with  the  Church 
of  England  as  a  sister  Church,  and  are  ready  to  give  outward  evidence 
hereof  on  all  occasions,  like  as  we  expect  the  same  compliance  from  the 
members  of  that  Church  when  occasion  shall  offer.  May  the  Church 
of  England  long  preserve  the  just  esteem  and  veneration  it  has  gained 
in  the  Christian  world ;  may  this  esteem  be  always  on  the  increase  ; 
and  may  the  gates  of  hell  never  be  able  to  prevail  either  against  it  or 
this  Church  ;  and  may  botli  Churches  ever  continue  to  cultivate  union 
and  harmony  together,  to  the  credit  of  our  holy  religion  and  the  pro- 
moting of  true  piety  and  virtue  ! 

"  Mo,  For  ourselves,  as  we  know  that  in  the  present  situation  of 
this  Church  we  have  no  external  coercive  power,  so  we  esteem  the  con- 
currence of  our  presbyters  and  people  the  only  support,  under  God,  of 
our  episcopal  government,  and  whenever  we  are  made  duly  sensible  of 
any  just  grievances,  both  duty  and  interest  will  oblige  us  speedily  to  re- 
move them.  It  is  the  love  and  prayers  of  our  clergy  and  people  that 
must  strengthen  our  hands.  Each  of  us  in  particular  is  blessed  with 
most  dutiful  and  obliging  presbyters,  and  we  declare  that  we  will  do  no- 
thing of  moment  without  consulting  them  ;  and  this  union  we  trust  will 
stand  firm  against  all  opposition.  We  must  stand  or  fall  together. 
(Signed)  llo.  Keith,  Primus.  Will.  Dunbar,  Bishop.  Ro.  White, 
Bishop.  Will.  Falconer,  Bishop.  John  Alexander,  Bishop" 

Bishop  Smith  seems  to  have  interfered  so  unwarrantably  in  the  af- 
fairs of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  that  it  was  considered  nee.  b- 
Bar?  to  issue  the  following  document,  dated  Alloa,  October  22,  17-14  :— 
"Whereasthe  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Smith  of  England  has,  by  several 
Letters  of  his  to  the  Eight  Rev.  Bishop  Keith,  the  Rev.  Mr  John  Mac- 

azie,  and  others,  in  Scotland,  plainly  assumed  to  himself  a  superiority, 
to  which  he  can  have  no  pretension,  oyer  the  Bishops  and  (  lergj  of  this 


280  HISTORY  OF  THE 

national  Church,  and  has  declared  that  he  still  owns  as.  a  presbyter  Mr 
David  Fife  [at  Dundee],  formerly  indeed  a  presbyter  of  this  Church,  but 
canonically  deposed  by  the  Bishops  thereof,  a  thing  contrary  to  all  order 
and  discipline,  and  to  that  principle  of  unity  so  carefully  preserved  in 
the  first  and  purest  ages  of  the  Church  : — We,  the  subscribing  Bishop 
and  Presbyters,  have  thought  ourselves  in  duty  bound,  for  the  preservation 
of  our  own  rights  and  independency,  and  in  defence  and  maintenance  of 
the  principle  as  well  as  forms  and  constitution  of  the  Catholic  Church  of 
Christ,  to  disclaim,  and  we  do  disclaim,  and  will  to  the  utmost  of  our 
power  oppose,  all  usurped  authority  over,  or  encroachments  upon,  the 
Bishops  and  clergy  of  this  Church  ;  and  do  testify  (as  we  here  most  sin- 
cerely do)  our  abhorrence  of  all  principles  and  practice  tending  to  destroy 
order  and  discipline,  and  to  defeat  that  regular  exercise  of  authority  with- 
out which  neither  can  possibly  subsist,  and  to  the  producing  and  foment- 
ing of  schisms  in  the  Church,  to  the  great  hurt  and  hinderance  of  true 
religion,  and  with  infinite  danger  to  the  consciences  of  men.  Declaring 
always,  as  we  hereby  declare,  that  we  are  and  own  ourselves  to  be  of  the 
same  communion  with  the  Church  of  England,  and  will  endeavour  on 
our  part  to  preserve  union  with  her  as  members  of  the  same  mystical 
body  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  (Sic  subscribitur)  John  Alexander,  Bishop  of 
Dunkeld.  Will.  Seton,  Dean,  and  Presbyter  in  Forfar,  and  ten  other 
presbyters." 

The  "  Third  Address  of  the  Presbyters  of  Edinburgh  to  the  Bishops  of 
Scotland"  is  preserved  in  the  same  MS.  volume,  dated  Dec.  22, 1744,  and 
signed  "  James  Mackenzie,  Preses."  They  propose  the  following  articles 
to  adjust  the  dispute  : — "  I.  That  you  will  null  and  void  the  Canons  of 
last  Synod,  as  having  no  proper  authority,  and  redress  the  grievances 
consequent  upon  them  ;  and  that  no  new  Canons  be  made  or  binding 
upon  the  clergy  and  laity  of  this  Church  without  competent  authority. — 
II.  That  since  the  first  article  of  the  last  Concordate  has  been  frequently 
violated  and  broke  through,  viz.  that  we  shall  only  make  use  of  the 
Scottish  or  English  Liturgy  in  the  public  or  divine  service,  nor  shall  we 
disturb  the  peace  of  the  Church  by  introducing  into  the  public  worship 
any  of  the  ancient  Usages,  concerning  which  there  has  been  lately  a 
difference  among  us,  and  that  we  shall  censure  any  of  the  clergy  who 
act  otherwise  ;  the  present  Bishops  do  each  of  them  subscribe  to  this 
as  a  condition  of  peace  and  union,  and  any  who  shall  be  hereafter  pro- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  281 

moted,  immediately  before  his  consecration  ;  and  that  they  give  proper 
assurance  for  the  due  execution  of  it,  without  any  mutilation,  alteration, 
or  transposition,  in  either  of  the  Offices  in  the  administration  of  Bap- 
tism, Confirmation,  and  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  in  the  ordination  of 
deacons  and  presbyters,  and  consecrations  of  Bishops. — III.   That  the 
privilege  of  electing  Bishops  be  ascertained  to  the  presbyters  of  this 
Church  in  their  respective  districts,  and  that  the  Bishops  be  obliged  to 
consecrate  the  elect,  upon  presenting  the  instruments  of  election  sub- 
scribed by  a  majority  of  the  presbyters  of  the  district,  except  the  local 
custom  impede  it,  or  they  make  relevant  objections  against  the  faith 
and  morals  of  the  elect,  and  prove  them  in  a  regular  canonical  manner. — 
IV.  That  the  division  of  districts  made  by  the  Concordate  be  observed, 
or  reduced  by  common  consent,  to  six  or  seven,  which  will  serve  all  the 
needful  occasions  of  episcopal  administrations  in  this  Church,  and  that 
no  election  be  made  without  calling  all  the  presbyters  of  that  district  to 
it. — V.  That  in  conferring  holy  orders,  and  exercising  acts  of  discipline 
within  each  district,   every  thing  of  moment  be  managed  by  common 
consent  of  the  Bishop  and  his  presbyters  ;  and  in  case  a  majority  of  the 
presbyters  be  against  the  opinion  of  their  Bishop,  he  shall  have  a  nega- 
tive upon  them  ;  for,  as  Bishop  Sage  says,  by  our  constitution  they  can 
do  nothing  without  him,  nor  he  without  them."     They  thus  conclude 
the  address  : — "  These  grievances  we  humbly  conceive  we  have  a  right 
to  demand  the  redress  of,  but  we  choose  rather  to  entreat  it  for  love's 
sake,  and  for  the  tenderness  of  your  own  paternal  bowels,  which  we 
still  flatter  ourselves  are  not  quite  shut  up  against  us.     If  you  do  but  so 
much  as  vouchsafe  to  give  us  an  answer,  we  shall  consider  it  as  a  happy 
interruption  of  that  distance  and  cold  reserve  that  we  have  been  so  long 
in,   and  with  such  a  mortifying  severity  punished  withal,   and  as  a 
Messed  presage  of  having  a  door  opened  for  our  readmission  to  your  good 
graces,  which  would  once  more  revive  our  drooping  spirits,  not  only  as 
it  would  be  the  most  sensible  happiness  we  could  desire  for  ourselves, 
but  as  we  think  it  would  be  a  great  step  towards  restoring  peace  to  the 
Church,   towards   relieving  the  minds  of  the  faithful  from   distressing 
jealousies  and  contentious  disputes,  and  setting  them  at  liberty  to  exerl 
their  whole  lone  in  the  study  and  exercise  of  solid  piety  and  true  reli- 
gion— an  aid  we  are  persuaded  as  desirable  to  your  Reverence  sas  to  us.1 
This  letter,  Bigned  bj  the    Rer.  James  Mackenzie,  as  "  Pri  see,"  i> 


2$2  HISTORY  OF  THE 

written  in  a  very  different  spirit  from  one  by  the  same  gentleman,  dated 
Aug.  17,  1744,  to  Bishop  Keith,  transmitting  ten  queries  on  the  rela- 
tive connection  of  Bishops  and  presbyters,  and  very  impolitely  thus  ex- 
pressing himself — "  I  take  the  freedom  to  send  you  the  inclosed  queries, 
and  I  hope  you  will  not  treat  them  as  you  did  my  letter  about  the  ex- 
emption canon,  by  smuggling  anonymous  remarks  among  your  particular 
admirers,  without  addressing  for  me  a  copy  of  them,  but  that  you  will 
vouchsafe  to  send  me  a  direct,  proper,  and  subscribed  answer."  Such 
haughty  and  disrespectful  language  probably  accounts  for  the  "  distance 
and  cold  reserve,"  evinced  by  the  Bishops,  of  which  the  presbyters  of 
Edinburgh  complain  as  having  been  for  a  long  time  "  punished"  with  a 
"mortifying  severity."  What  answer  Bishop  Keith  returned  to  Mr 
Mackenzie's  queries  and  his  angry  epistle  does  not  appear,  but  the 
"  Third  Address"  of  the  Presbyters  elicited  the  following  letter  from  the 
Bishop,  dated  January  25,  1744-5,  addressed  to  "  Mess.  James  Mac- 
kenzie, William  Harper,  John  Mackenzie,  Alexander  Mackenzie,  Alex- 
ander Robertson,  Patrick  Gordon,  David  Rae,*  presbyters  in  Edin- 
burgh, and  William  Law,  presbyter  in  Leith." 

"  My  Reverend  Brethren, — There  was  sent  me  some  time  ago  a  paper 
that  appears  to  have  been  signed  by  your  Preses,  in  your  name  and  by 
your  appointment,  and  is  addressed  to  the  Bishops  of  this  national 
Church. 

"  I  persuade  myself,  my  brethren,  I  need  but  point  out  to  your  re- 
flection, without  taking  any  pains  to  prove,  that  in  the  nature  of  the 
thing  it  is  impossible  that  any  distinct  and  decisive  answers  should  be 
given  to  the  demands  or  proposals  your  address  contains  without  a 
meeting  of  the  Bishops,  since  no  one  can  take  upon  him  to  speak  in 
name  of  the  rest,  nor  all  of  us,  by  single  and  separate  opinions,  determine 
in  matters  that  plainly  require  the  authority  of  a  Synod. 

"  You  will  easily  understand,  too,  that  such  meetings  are  to  some  of 
our  number  attended  with  no  small  difficulty  through  age,  infirmity, 

*  In  another  document  Mr  Rae  is  called  Mr  Rait,  but  he  signs  his  own  name 
David  Rae.  He  was  probably  the  Rev.  David  Rae,  formerly  of  St  Andrews,  father 
of  Sir  David  Rae  of  Eskgrove,  elevated  to  the  Scottish  Bench  in  1782,  when  he  took 
his  seat  by  the  title  of  Lord  Eskgrove,  nominated  a  Lord  of  Justiciary  in  1785,  Lord 
Justice- Clerk  in  1800,  and  created  a  Baronet  in  1804.  His  Lordship  was  the  father 
of  Sir  William  Rae,  Bart.  Lord  Advocate  of  Scotland  from  1819  to  1830,  in  1834 
and  1835,  and  again  appointed  in  184-1  by  Sir  Robert  Peel's  Administration. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  283 

distance  of  place,  and   other  circumstances.     It  is  not  unreasonable, 
therefore,  that  before  they  submit  to  all  the  inconveniences  of  the  thing, 
they  should  desire  to  see  that  disposition  on  your  part  that  may  encour- 
age them  to  meet  with  any  agreeable  success.     How  shall  they  be  per- 
suaded of  this,  my  dear  brethren,  whilst  you  take  [no]  notice  of  the  pa- 
per I  lately  offered  to  you,  and  which  contains  in  it  matters  of  so  great 
moment  to  our  common  interests,  both  yours  and  ours  ?  How  shall  they 
believe  that  a  zeal  for  the  rights  of  this  national  Church,  under  any  no- 
tion or  apprehension  of  them,   really  animates  your  proceedings  ?  If, 
when  her  most  undoubted  rights  are  openly  invaded,  her  independency 
struck  at,  you  are  careless  and  unconcerned  ?  But  however  much  this 
subject  may  deserve,  and  certainly  it  does  deserve,  your  attention,  the 
practices  among  us  that  gave  occasion  for,  and  receive  countenance  and 
encouragement  from,  the  encroachment  we  complain  of,  afford  matter  of 
more  formidable  apprehension  still,  and  deeper  concern.     Order  and 
government,  a  reverence  for  the  laws,  and  obedience  to  those  that  bear 
rule,  things  so  valuable  and  of  so  great  importance  to  the  peace  and 
welfare  of  all  society,  are  in  the  Church  (from  the  connection  they  have 
with  and  their  subserviency  to  the  great  ends  of  religion)  yet  more 
precious  and  important,  and  as  such  have^ever  been  dear  to  good  men. 
What,  then,  can  more  sensibly  touch  you  than  the  prospect  we  have 
now  before  us  ?  WheD  clergymen  so  far  lose  sense  of  that  duty  and  obe- 
dience they  owe  to  their  superiors,  that,  admonished  by  their  Bishops, 
they  disregard  it— censured  by  them,  they  shake   oft"  their  authority  ; 
when  the  people  <<»me  to  believe  that  after  a  clergyman  is  canonically 
deposed   hi-  ininist rations   may  be  as  valid  as  before,  and   that  with 
safety  to  their  consciences  they  may  adhere  to  him  as  their  pastor, 
though  in  direel  contradiction  to  the  most  primitive  and  truly  catholic 
principles  ;  then,  surely,  all  discipline  is  dissolved,  all  government  is 
subverted,  and  it  may  seem  idle  in  circumstances  of  this  sort  to  dispute 
what  is  or  what  ought   to  be  the  peculiar  constitution  of  a  national 
Church,  Bince  it  i-  evident — demonstratively  evident — that  when  such 
opinions  and  such  practices  prevail,  none  can  he  <>[  any  signification. 
These  are  •  mj  brethren,  real  and  great,  and  justly  alarming. 

How  i-  it,  then,  that  ye  n  Rise  to  give  attention  t<>  them,  though  called 
upon  t«.  do  so  I  Are  the  interests  "t  religion,  the  great  ends  of  tru<  pietj . 


284  HISTORY  OF  THE 

better  served  ?  Is  the  glory  of  God,  is  the  salvation  of  men,  more  ad- 
vanced by  order  and  discipline,  and  a  due  respect  for  authority,  or  by 
licentiousness  and  revolt,  and  that  confusion  which  always  follows  them  ? 
Ways  there  are  we  know — the  Scripture  assures  us  of  it — that  may 
seem  right  to  a  man  in  his  own  eyes,  though,  in  conclusion,  they  are 
the  ways  of  death.  And  never,  surely,  ought  the  parties  of  the  Church 
to  watch  with  more  anxious  care,  or  warn  with  louder  cries,  than  when 
there  is  danger  of  so  fatal  a  mistake. 

"  You  might  blame  me,  perhaps,  and  I  should  blame  myself,  if  I 
passed  over  in  silence  those  expressions  of  filial  affection  this  last  ad- 
dress from  you  contains.  Nothing  could  be  more  agreeable  to  us — I 
speak  it  with  confidence  for  my  brethren  the  other  Bishops,  as  well  as 
for  myself — nothing  is  more  the  object  of  our  wish,  than  to  be  possessed  of 
your  love  and  esteem,  and  that  there  should  ever  subsist  between  us  that 
indissolvable  union  which,  by  the  strongest  ties  of  duty,  and  principle, 
and  common  interest,  there  ought  to  be.  But  certainly  now  is  the  time 
when  they  who  have  indeed  a  regard  for  our  order  ought  to  show  they 
have,  and  when  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  where  it  appears  it  really  is. 

"  You  see  the  condition  we  are  reduced  to,  the  difficulties  and  dis- 
couragements that  press  us  on  every  side.  You  see  our  authority  de- 
spised and  defeated  at  home,  invaded  and  insulted  from  abroad,  left 
destitute  of  all  support  but  the  little  it  can  receive  from  the  principles 
and  conscience  of  a  very  few.  At  a  time  and  in  circumstances  of  so 
great  distress  to  us,  what  filial  affection  can  remain  insensible  ?  Can  it 
be  alive,  and  not  awaken  ?  At  such  a  time,  my  brethren,  do  you  refuse 
us  that  assistance  we  so  much  need,  and  might  so  justly  expect  from 
you  ?  Rather  suffer  your  own  rights  to  be  encroached  on  than  join  with 
us  in  asserting  ours.  Formally  compliment  and  really  arraign  us,  not 
considering  that  when  ye  do  so  ye  destroy  that  reverence  for  our  office 
and  character  which  alone  can  support  it  in  our  present  circumstances. 
Possess  the  people  with  fears  and  jealousies,  the  never-failing  source  of 
discussion  and  calamity  to  this  nation  ;  give  encouragement  to  opinions 
and  practices  of  the  most  dangerous  tendency,  and  extinguish  the  small 
remains  of  Christian  principles  among  us,  already  as  smoking  flax  in 
the  minds  of  too  many.  Judge  yourselves,  my  brethren  ;  I  speak  as  to 
those  that  know.     Ought  these  things  to  be  ?  May  the  infinite,  great, 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  285 

and  good  God,  with  whom  is  counsel,  and  from  whom  it  comes,  direct 
your  consultations,  to  the  glory  of  his  name  and  the  peace  of  his  afflicted 
Church  ;  and  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  your  spirits ! 
Amen.     (Signed)     Robert  Keith." 

The  result  of  this  paternal  remonstrance  to  the  presbyters  of  Edin- 
burgh is  indicated  in  a  letter  from  some  of  them  to  Bishop  Keith,  con- 
taining their  "  Reasons  for  not  subscribing  the  condemnation  of  Bishop 
Smith  of  England,  in  answer  to  a  paper  of  said  Bishop  Keith  urging 
that  subscription."    In  this  letter  they  acknowledge  the  Bishop's,  above 
quoted,  of  the  25th  of  January,  which  they  allege  was  not  and  could  not 
be  communicated  to  them  till  the  28th.     This  document  is  of  consider- 
able length,  but  does  not  throw  much  light  on  the  matter,  being  chiefly 
an  elaborate  defence  of  Bishop  Smith  from  the  charge  of  "  usurpation 
and  encroachment"  in  the  affairs  of  ttifc  Church.     It  is  dated  February 
7,  1745,  and  is  signed  by  the  eight  presbyters  to  whom  the  Bishop  ad- 
dressed his  letter,  with  an  intimation  that  "  other  four  of  the  presbyters 
of  this  Diocese  have  already  subscribed  their  adherence  to  us,  and  ap- 
probation of  this  paper,  viz.  Messrs  Robert  Blair,  Henry  Foulis  at  Dal- 
keith, William  Harper  at  Bothkennar,  and  William  Miln,  and  it  is  ex- 
pected that  others  will  sign."     As  it  respects  Bishop  Keith  and  his 
conduct  in  this  dispute  the  following  extract  is  probably  an  explanation : — 
"  It  is,"  says  Bishop  Russell,  "a  trite  observation,  that  the  man  who 
most  conscientiously  cloes  his  duty  is  not  always  rewarded  with  the  first 
burst  of  popular  applause  ;  and  we  find,  accordingly,  that  Bishop  Keith 
was  by  no  means  beloved  by  the  presbyters  of  Edinburgh,  among  whom 
he  had  been  so  many  years  resident.     He  was  seldom  asked  by  any  of 
them  to  perform  in  their  congregations  the  offices  peculiar  to  his  order, 
and  if  we  were  to  judge  from  a  variety  of  addresses,  remonstrances,  and 
replies  which  arc  still  on  record,  we  should  say  that  his  intercourse  with 
the  inferior  clergy  was  almost  entirely  confined  to  disputes  about  the 
limitsof  episcopal  jurisdiction  and  the  privileges  of  the  priesthood.  The 
presbyters  of  Edinburgh,  who,  at  the  period  in  question,  used  to  elect  a 
moderator,  and  assume  considerable  powers  as  a  regular  and  standing 
Presbytery,  were  extremely  jealous  of  any  higher  authority  in  the  Church  ; 
while  the  Bishops,  OU  the  other  hand,  regulating  their  proceedings  by  a 
r  gard  to  abstract  principle  and  ancient  usage,  rather  than  bj  a  due 
consideration  of  the  circumstances  in  which  late  events  had  placed  their 

Communion,  and  still  less  by  view-  of  mere  expediency,  appear  00  -everal 


286  HISTORY  OF  THE 

occasions  to  have  aimed  at  the  possession  of  a  degree  of  power  which 
would  have  inevitably  sunk  the  second  order  of  ministers  into  absolute 
insignificance.  The  enactment  of  canons  in  1743,  as  laws  regulating 
the  practice  and  defining  the  obedience  of  the  whole  Church,  without 
desiring  the  advice  or  concurrence  of  any  of  the  presbyters,  was  a 
stretch  of  prerogative  which  could  not  prove  agreeable  to  the  latter  de- 
scription of  clergy  ;  and  although  the  Bishops  might  have  no  difficulty 
in  proving  that  they  had  not  on  this  occasion  exceeded  the  limits  of  the 
author itv  inherent  in  their  order,  and  which  had  been  frequently  exercised 
by  the  rulers  of  the  Church  in  the  purest  times  of  Christianity,  they 
would  yet  have  attained  their  object  more  effectually  by  conceding  a 
little  to  the  spirit  of  the  age  and  the  wishes  of  their  Brethren.  The 
share  which  Bishop  Keith  had  in  this  rather  unseemly  controversy  will 
serve  as  an  excuse  for  the  mention  which  has  been  made  of  it  in  this 
place.  His  local  situation  as  being  resident  in  the  metropolis,  his  offi- 
cial station  as  Primus,  and,  above  all,  his  personal  influence  as  a  man 
of  business  as  well  as  of  letters,  will  account  for  the  prominent  part  he 
acted  as  the  representative  and  advocate  of  the  Episcopal  Synod."* 

The  objections  to  the  canons  of  the  Synod  of  1743  were  overruled  by 
the  clergy  in  general,  who  anticipated  from  them  the  most  peaceful  and 
successful  results.  The  Church  was  now  well  organized,  the  congrega- 
tions were  numerous  throughout  the  kingdom  ;  even  the  leaders  of 
the  Presbyterian  Establishment  had  become,  as  Mr  Skinner  observes, 
"  more  easy  and  pacific  ;  and  the  infatuated  generation  of  1688  being 
mostly  gone,  their  successors  began  to  adopt  more  liberal  sentiments." 
The  prosperous  state  of  the  Church  about  1745  was  often  mentioned 
by  the  old  members  half  a  century  afterwards,  when  they  contrasted 
their  then  condition  with  the  severities  they  experienced  after  the  sup- 
pression of  the  last  attempt  of  the  exiled  royal  family  to  recover  the 
throne  of  Great  Britain.  They  saw  the  blood  of  some  of  Scotland's 
chivalrous  noblemen  and  gentlemen  drenching  the  scaffold,  their  estates 
forfeited,  their  titles  and  their  families  attainted,  and  not  a  few  of  them 
exiled.  They  saw  their  religion  again  proscribed  and  persecuted,  as  if 
none  but  its  ministers  and  members  had  been  concerned  in  an  enter- 
prise which  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  and  romantic  episodes  in 
the  history  of  Scotland  since  the  Revolution. 

*  Life  of  Bishop  Keith,  in  Bishop  Russell's  edition  of  the  "  Catalogue  of  the  Scot- 
tish Bishops/'  p.  xxxi.  xxxii.  xxxiii. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  287 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


THE  ENTERPRISE  OF  1745  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES  TO  THE  SCOTTISH  EPIS- 
COPAL CHURCH — ACTS  OF  PARLIAMENT — PROSECUTIONS  OF  THE  CLERGY 

AND  LAITY ATTACHMENT  OF  THE  PEOPLE  TO  THEIR  PASTORS DEATH  OF 

GEORGE  II. 


The  Enterprise  of  1745  is  familiar  to  every  reader.  In  the  month  of 
July  that  year  Prince  Charles  landed  in  Scotland  and  displayed  his 
standard,  declaring  that  his  object  was  a  "  crown  or  a  coffin."  The 
Highland  Clans  under  their  enthusiastic  chiefs  were  summoned,  and 
descended  in  impetuous  thousands  to  the  Lowland  counties,  where  they 
were  joined  by  various  noblemen  and  gentlemen  ;  and  when  they  took 
possession  of  Edinburgh  they  mustered  a  very  considerable  force,  rude 
indeed,  ill-disciplined,  and  wretchedly  armed,  but  all  animated  by  the 
most  sanguine  dreams  of  success. 

The  old  Chevalier,  for  whom  Prince  Charles  professed  to  act  as  "  Re 
gent,"  had  never  been  personally  popular  among  his  adherents  in  Scot- 
land. His  reception  at  his  arrival  about  the  conclusion  of  the  Earl  of 
Mar's  adventure  in  1715  was  a  complete  proof  that,  as  an  individual,  he 
was  disliked.  "  Our  men,"  says  the  Master  of  Sinclair,  "  began  to  de- 
Bpisehim;  some  asked  if  he  could  speak."  But  it  was  different  with 
his  son,  then  young,  of  most  prepossessing  appearance,  ardent,  confid- 
ing, fall  of  lofty  hopes,  and  the  representative  of  one  of  the  most  ancient 
royal  dynasties  in  Europe. 

The  enthusiasm  with  which  the  Prince  was  received  by  his  supporters 
in  some  districts  evinced  the  devotion  of  the  Jacobite-  to  his  claims. 
It  is  not  difficult  to  ascertain  the  feelings  of  the  great  mass  of  the  Bpis- 


2<S<S  HISTORY  OF  THE 

copal  clergy  and  laity  at  the  appearance  of  the  Adventurers,  and  although 
as  a  Church  they  had  no  connection  with  the  Enterprise,  and  though 
many  of  them  were  not  Jacobites,  yet  it  is  needless  to  deny  that  the 
majority  were  attached  to  the  exiled  dynasty — that  many  of  the  laity 
and  a  few  of  the  clergy  embarked  in  the  cause — and  numbers  of  them 
suffered  the  penalty  of  their  rashness  on  the  scaffold.  But  it  ought  also 
to  be  remembered,  that  all  the  Adventurers  did  not  belong  to  the  Epis- 
copal Church — that  many  were  Roman  Catholics,  and  others  were  cer- 
tainly not  Episcopalians. 

After  Prince  Charles  obtained  possession  of  Edinburgh  he  held  le- 
vees in  the  Palace  of  Holyrood,  which  were  numerously  attended  by  his 
followers,  and  numbers  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  considered  it  their  duty 
to  pay  their  respects  to  him  as  "  Prince  of  Wales"  and  "  Regent," 
according  to  the  tenor  of  his  proclamations.  The  victory  gained  by  the 
Adventurers  over  the  troops  of  King  George  under  Sir  John  Cope,  near 
Prestonpans,  excited  the  most  sanguine  and  exulting  hopes.  Some  of 
the  Episcopal  clergy  followed  the  march  of  the  Adventurers,  as  did  se- 
veral Presbyterian  ministers  in  the  Royal  army.  A  few  of  the  former, 
however,  were  prevented  from  connecting  themselves  with  the  Enterprise 
by  being  committed  to  prison.  This  was  the  case  with  the  Rev.  Robert 
Forbes  of  Leith,  afterwards  a  Bishop,  two  other  clergymen,  and  two 
gentlemen,  who  were  apprehended  at  St  Ninian's,  near  Stirling,  on 
the  7th  of  September  1745,  at  the  commencement  of  the  insurrection, 
and  carried  first  to  Stirling  Castle,  and  thence  to  the  Castle  of  Edin- 
burgh, from  which  they  were  not  liberated  till  May  1746.  After 
the  battle  of  Prestonpans  one  Episcopal  clergyman  immediately  set 
out  on  foot  on  the  Saturday  for  the  scene  of  his  ministrations,  beyond 
Doune  in  Perthshire,  a  distance  of  at  least  seventy  miles  from  the  field 
of  action,  and  was  so  much  stimulated  by  his  zeal  that  he  arrived  in 
time  on  Sunday  to  announce  to  his  flock,  at  the  ordinary  hour  for  di- 
vine service,  the  victory  at  Prestonpans,  invoking  at  the  same  time 
blessings  on  the  Chevalier  and  his  cause. 

But  whatever  were  the  political  hopes  of  the  Jacobites  in  general, 
as  a  party,  these  were  completely  annihilated  by  the  battle  of  Culloden. 
The  Adventurers  were  utterly  defeated  and  dispersed,  the  Enterprise 
completely  crushed,  and  its  leader,  for  whom  this  desperate  attempt  was 
made,  was  necessitated  to  wander  among  the  mountain  fastnesses  of  the 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  289 

Highlands  and  the  stormy  Hebridean  Islands,  suffering  the  greatest 
hardships,  privations,  and  distress,  before  he  effected  his  escape  to  the 
Continent.  The  numerous  executions  which  followed  the  suppression 
of  the  Enterprise  sufficiently  intimate  the  alarm  of  the  Government, 
and  exhibit  a  malignant  severity  which  might  have  been  spared  by  those 
at  the  helm  of  affairs. 

The  Duke  of  Cumberland's  victory  of  Culloden  over  a  body  of  wretch- 
edly armed,  dispirited,  and  fatigued  Highlanders,  suffering  from  long 
marches  and  other  misfortunes,  was  followed  by  cruelties  seldom  ex- 
emplified in  modern  warfare,  and  which  have  made  his  name  execrated 
to  this  day  in  Scotland.  All  writers  admit  those  horrible  barbarities 
practised  on  the  poor,  defenceless,  and  innocent  peasantry,  in  the 
most  wanton  and  unprovoked  manner,  by  the  Duke  of  Cumberland's  au- 
thority and  sanction.  The  unhappy  and  fugitive  Highlanders  were 
everywhere  cut  down,  and  numbers  of  persons,  who  from  motives  of  cu- 
riosity were  mere  spectators  of  the  battle,  were  sacrificed  by  the  indis- 
criminating  vengeance  of  the  victors.  "  They  had  been  provoked," 
says  Smollett,  "  by  their  former  disgraces  to  the  most  savage  thirst  of 
revenge.  Not  contented  with  the  blood  which  was  so  profusely  shed  in 
the  heat  of  action,  they  traversed  the  field  after  the  battle,  and  mas- 
sacred those  miserable  wretches  who  lay  maimed  and  expiring  ;  nay, 
some  officers  acted  a  part  in  this  cruel  scene  of  assassination — the 
triumph  of  low,  illiberal  minds,  uninspired  by  sentiments,  untinctured 
by  humanity.  In  the  month  of  May  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  advanced 
with  the  army  into  the  Highlands  as  far  as  Fort- Augustus,  where  he 
encamped,  and  sent  off  detachments  on  all  hands  to  hunt  down  the  fugi- 
tives, and  lay  waste  the  country  with  fire  and  sword.  The  castles  of 
Glengarry  and  Lochiel  were  plundered  and  burned  ;  every  house,  hut, 
or  habitation,  met  with  the  same  fate  without  distinction  ;  all  the  cattle 
and  provisions  were  carried  off  ;  the  men  were  either  shot  upon  the 
mountains  like  wild  beasts,  or  put  to  death  in  cold  blood  without  form 
of  trial ;  the  women,  after  seeing  their  husbands  and  fathers  murdered, 
were  subject  to  brutal  violation,  and  then  turned  out  naked  with  their 
children  to  starve  on  the  barren  heaths.  One  whole  family  was  enclosed 
in  a  barn,  and  consumed  to  ashes.  Those  ministers  of  vengeance  were 
so  alert  in  the  execution  of  their  office,  that  in  a  few  days  there  was 
neither  house,  cottage,  man  nor  beast,  to  be  seen  in  thecomptM  of  fifty 

I 


290  HISTORY  OF  THE 

miles;  all  was  ruin,  silence,  and  desolation."*  While  these  cruelties 
were  inflicted  on  the  unhappy  Highlanders,  and  on  many  who  had  no 
concern  in  the  Enterprise  whatever,  the  Government  was  preparing  its 
career  of  blood  for  the  prisoners  with  whom  the  public  prisons  were  filled. 
Severity  to  the  vanquished  Jacobites  was  not  only  recommended  in  various 
publications,  but  demanded  ;  and  even  the  pulpit  was  occasionally  made 
he  place  where  those  inhuman  sentiments  were  delivered.  It  is  said 
that  on  the  21st  of  August  1746,  a  shocking  instance  occurred  in  the 
magnificent  Minster  of  York.  The  chaplain  of  the  High  Sheriff  had 
the  inhumanity  to  preach  before  the  Judges  who  were  to  try  the  pri- 
soners from  a  passage  of  Scripture,  and  the  spirit  of  his  sermon  is  suf- 
ficiently indicated  by  the  text.  It  was  from  the  Book  of  Numbers 
(xxv.  5) — "  And  Moses  said  unto  the  judges  of  Israel,  Slay  ye  every 
one  his  man  that  was  joined  unto  Baal-peor." 

"  The  intelligence  of  the  battle  of  Culloden,"  says  Mr  Chambers,  "  so 
important  in  its  nature  and  results,  produced  different  effects  upon  the 
public  mind,  according  to  the  sentiments  of  those  by  whom  it  was  heard. 
The  Jacobites  received  it  as  a  total  overthrow  to  their  fond  and  long- 
cherished  hopes,  while  it  excited  in  the  partizans  of  the  Government  a 
transport  of  joy  too  overpowering  to  admit  of  a  thought  upon  the  misery 
in  which  it  involved  so  many  of  their  countrymen.     The  news  reaching 
Edinburgh  on  the  night  between  Saturday  and  Sunday,  and  being  an- 
nounced to  the  ears  of  the  slumbering  inhabitants  by  discharge  of  can- 
non, many  of  the  unhappy  Jacobites  were  found  stretched  next  morning 
upon  their  couches  in  a  state  of  insensibility.      Some  of  the  ancient 
gentlewomen,  whose  daily  prayers  for  fifty  years  had  included  the  resto- 
ration of  the  Stuarts,  and  whose  wishes  had  been  wound  up  during  the 
progress  of  the  insurrection  to  a  state  bordering  upon  insanity,  never 
afterwards  rose  from  the  beds  upon  which  the  afflicting  intelligence  had 
found  them,  but  continued  as  long  as  they  lived  shrouded  from  the 
light  of  day,  and  inaccessible  to  consolation.     The  misery  of  those  who 
had  friends,  or  kinsmen,  or  lovers,  concerned  in  the  dreadful  event  was 
far  more  poignant,  distracted  as  they  were  betwixt  the  fear  that  they 
were  slain,  or,  what  was  still  more  dreadful,  that  they  survived  as  cap- 
tives.    To  add  to  their  grief,  the  loyal  part  of  the  community  and  the 

*  Smollett's  History,  4to  edit.  vol.  iv.  p.  673,  674. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  29 1 

Presbyterians,  now  triumphant  in  their  turn,  took  every  opportunity  of 
lacerating  their  feelings.  They  even  dared  not  to  inquire  regarding  the 
fate  of  those  most  dear  to  them,  from  the  dread  of  persecution  to  them- 
selves, or  proscription — perhaps  death  to  the  ill-starred  objects  of  their 
affection."* 

The  Duke  of  Cumberland,  in  his  march  to  the  North,  visited  all  the 
Episcopal  chapels  in  Forfarshire,  Kincardineshire,  Morayshire,  and 
Banffshire,  with  military  law.  They  were  ordered  to  be  shut  up,  and  in 
many  places  the  people  were  incited  to  destroy  the  seats  and  other  furni- 
ture, and  to  set  fire  to  the  humble  edifices.  These  ravages  were  carried 
into  some  districts  of  Aberdeenshire  ;  and  scarcely  a  week  had  elapsed 
after  the  battle  of  Cuiloden,  before  his  Royal  Highness  had  succeeded  in 
prohibiting  any  congregation  from  assembling  for  divine  service  in  which 
a  Nonjuring  clergyman  officiated.  The  most  shameful  and  wanton  out- 
rages were  committed,  and  the  clergy  and  laity  were  often  personally 
maltreated  and  insulted.  In  other  counties  the  mob  did  the  work  of 
the  military  in  the  North.  The  chapel  in  Cupar-Fife,  in  which  Bishop 
White  officiated,  was  assailed  and  gutted,  and  the  seats,  pulpit,  reading 
desk,  and  communion-table,  burnt  in  the  streets.  On  Sunday  the  27th 
of  April  there  was  divine  service  in  very  few  of  the  chapels  in  Edin- 
burgh, and  before  next  Sunday  they  were  all  ordered  to  be  shut  up  by 
the  Sheriff. t 

In  the  summer  of  174G  the  Government  thought  proper  to  take  notice 
of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  in  the  most  summary  manner.  An 
act  was  passed,  enjoining  the  strict  execution  of  all  former  laws  against 
"  Nonjuring  ministers,"  with  such  additional  regulations  as  would  place 
them  under  more  severe  restraint.  It  was  enacted,  that  from  and  after 
the  1st  of  September  174G,  every  person  exercising  the  function  of  a 
pastor  or  minister  in  any  Episcopal  meeting  in  Scotland,  without  regi- 
stering his  letters  of  orders,  and  taking  all  the  oaths  required  by  law, 
and  praying  for  his  Majesty  King  George  and  the  royal  family  by  name, 
shall,  for  the  first  offence,  suffer  sir  months'  imprisonment ;  and  for  the 
second,  or  any  subsequent  offence,  being  thereof  convicted  before  the 


♦    History  oftht  Rebellion  of  1745,  vol.  ii.  p.  120,  T-21 
f   Scots  Magazine,  1746,  vol.  viii.  p.  247. 


292  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Justiciary  or  any  of  the  Circuit  Courts,  shall  be  transported  to  some  of 
his  Majesty's  plantations  in  America  for  life  ;  and  in  case  of  his  return  to 
Great  Britain  shall  suffer  imprisonment  for  life. 

The  penalty  for  the  first  offence  is  set  forth  in  the  act  5th  George  I., 
and  it  is  there  declared  that  if  any  person  performed  divine  service  in 
any  Episcopal  "meeting-house,"  without  praying  in  express  words  for 
the  King  and  royal  family,  and  without  having  taken  the  Oaths  of  Alle- 
giance, Abjuration,  and  Assurance,  he  was  to  suffer  six  months'  impri- 
sonment, and  the  "  meeting-house"  was  to  be  shut  up  during  that  time. 
By  that  act  eight  persons  were  allowed  to  be  present  at  the  celebration  of 
divine  service  besides  the  family  ;  but  in  the  act  of  1746  there  was  this 
limiting  clause  :— "  And  for  ascertaining  what  shall  be  deemed  an  Epis- 
copal meeting-house  in  Scotland,  where  five  persons  or  more  shall  be  met 
together  to  hear  divine  service,  over  and  besides  those  of  the  household  ; 
or,  if  it  be  in  a  place  not  inhabited,  where  any  such  five  or  more  persons 
shall  be  so  met  together,  and  where  divine  service  shall  be  performed  by 
a  pastor  or  minister,  being  of  or  professing  to  be  of  the  Episcopal  com- 
munion, every  such  meeting  shall  be  deemed  to  be  an  Episcopal  meet- 
ing-house within  the  meaning  of  this  act."     It  is  farther  enacted  that 
the  sheriffs  of  counties  and  magistrates  of  burghs,  "  whenever  they  shall 
find  that  any  meeting-house  within  their  jurisdiction  hath  been  set  up  or 
maintained, "  without  the  ministers  qualifying  according  to  the  terms 
of  the  act,  are  "  required  to  cause   such   offences   to   be   prosecuted 
before  them,  to  shut  up  or  otherwise  suppress  such  meeting-houses,  and 
to  inflict  the  legal  penalties  on  the  ministers  and  pastors  officiating." 
By  the  act  5th  George  I.  the  hearers  were  not  subjected  to  any  penalties  ; 
but  by  this  act  it  was  enjoined  that  "if  any  person,  after  said  1st  of 
September,  shall  resort  to,  or  frequent  any  Episcopal  meeting-house  in 
Scotland,  whereof  the  pastor's  and  minister's  letters  of  orders  shall  not 
be  registered,"  and  the  other  terms  of  the  statute  observed,  "  every  per- 
son so  offending,  who  shall  not,  within  five  days,  give  information  of  such 
illegal  meeting  to  some  proper  magistrate,  shall,  upon  being  convicted 
before  any  two  or  more  justices  of  peace,  or  before  any  other  judge  com- 
petent summarily,  for  the  first  offence  forfeit  five  pounds  sterling,  one 
moiety  to  the  King,  and  the  other  to  the  informer,  and  suffer  six  months' 
imprisonment,  unless  or  until  the  same  be  paid  ;  and  for  the  second  or 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  293 


^s 


any  subsequent  offence,  being  convicted  before  the  Justiciary  or  any  of 
the  Circuit  Courts,  shall  suffer  imprisonment  for  two  years  from  the  date 
of  conviction." 

The  severity  and  even  malignancy  of  this  clause  cannot  be  mistaken. 
It  not  only  put  a  restraint  on  the  members  of  the  Church,  of  what- 
ever rank,  by  threatening  them  with  fines  and  imprisonment,  but 
rendered  both  clergy  and  laity  exposed  to  all  the  annoyances  of  com- 
mon informers,  to  whom  it  actually  held  out  rewards.  It  was  far- 
ther declared  that  all  letters  of  orders  would  be  deemed  void  in  the  re- 
gistration except  those  granted  by  a  Bishop  of  the  Church  of  England 
or  the  Church  of  Ireland,  and  the  time  for  commencing  every  prosecution 
was  extended  to  twelve  months  instead  of  two  months.  The  injury  done 
to  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  by  this  prosecution,  or  rather  persecution, 
of  the  clergy,  would  not  probably  have  been  of  great  or  of  long  continuance, 
if  it  had  not  extended  to  the  laity  as  above  mentioned  and  cited.  It 
was  declared  that  no  Peer  of  Scotland  should  be  capable  of  being  elected 
one  of  the  sixteen  Peers  of  Parliament,  or  of  voting  at  such  election  of  re- 
presentative Peers — that  no  person  should  be  capable  of  being  elected  a 
member  of  Parliament  for  any  county  or  burgh  in  Scotland,  or  of  voting 
at  such  election — or  of  acting  as  a  magistrate  or  counsellor  for  burghs,  or 
to  any  government  or  municipal  situation,  who  shall  have  been  present 
twice  within  one  year  in  any  such  Episcopal  "  meeting-house." — And 
that  "  if  any  person,  after  said  1st  of  September,  either  peers  or  com- 
moners, who  shall  hold  any  office,  civil  or  military,  in  Scotland,  shall 
resort  to  an  illegal  meeting-house  in  Scotland,  and  where  the  pastor  or 
minister  shall  not  pray  in  express  words  for  his  Majesty,  &c,  by  name, 
and  all  the  royal  family,  as  before  directed,  every  person  so  offend- 
ing, being  thereof  convicted  before  any  two  or  more  Justices  of  Peace, 
or  before  any  other  judge  competent,  shall  bo  disabled  from  thence- 
forth to  hold  such  office,  and  adjudged  incapable  to  bear  any  office  civil 
or  military  in  Scotland  for  one  year  after  such  conviction."  If  the  judges 
or  magistrates  were  to  be  found  guilty  of  wilful  negligence  of  their  duty 
in  patting  this  aet  in  force,  they  were  to  be  fined  each  L.50  sterling, 
one  half  to  the  informer,  and  the  other  half  to  the  poor  of  tho  parish. 

Such   ia  the  aet  of  174<i.  passed  against  tho  Scottish  Episcopalians, 
and  which,   it  will  be  immediately  seen,  was  amply  enforced.      Its  ob 
jeci  wsi  t-i  destroy  the  Church,  or  cause  the  communion  to  become  ex- 


294  HISTORY  OF  THE 

tinct.  This  indeed  is  almost  avowed  in  the  clause  respecting  the  Peers 
of  Scotland,  in  which  "  the  present  happy  Establishment" — the  Presby- 
terian Kirk,  is  noticed  ;  and  one  reason  assigned  for  involving  the  Scot- 
tish Episcopal  nobility  and  gentry  in  this  persecution  and  proscription, 
by  which  they  were  denied  their  civil  rights,  is,  that  "  they  should  be 
restrained  from  hurting  that  Establishment,  to  ichich  they  show  such  dis- 
affection." The  sole  offence,  or  crime,  as  it  was  considered  by  the  Go- 
vernment, was  the  omitting  the  name  of  King  George  II.  in  the  Litur- 
gy of  the  Church  of  England  by  about  two  hundred  clergymen,  who  had 
not  the  power  to  injure  the  Government  in  the  slightest  degree.  But  if 
one  object  of  this  act  was  to  annihilate  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church 
by  destroying  the  succession,  its  framers  were  disappointed.  In  the  be- 
ginning of  the  year  1746  the  venerable  Bishop  Dunbar  of  Aberdeen  died, 
and  the  passing  of  the  act  did  not  so  far  paralyze  the  remaining  Bishops 
as  to  prevent  them  from  considering  the  present  and  future  condition  of 
their  order.  The  presbyters  of  Aberdeen  elected  one  of  their  number, 
the  Rev.  Andrew  Gerard,  to  be  their  diocesan,  and  he  was  consecrated, 
doubtless  privately  to  avoid  the  prosecution  of  the  Government,  on  the 
17th  of  July  1747,  by  Bishops  White,  Falconer,  Rait,  and  Alexander. 
Bishop  Keith,  the  Primus,  is  not  mentioned  as  having  been  present. 

After  the  passing  of  the  act  some  of  the  clergy,  who  had  never  been 
remarkably  conspicuous  for  their  political  predilections,  thought  it  their 
duty  to  render  their  chapels  legal  places  of  worship,  and  they  repaired 
to  the  proper  magistrates,  registered  their  letters  of  orders,  and  took 
the  oaths  to  Government  within  the  time  required  by  law.  Among  these 
are  recorded  Messrs  Walker  at  Old  Meldrum,  Laing  at  Poutachy,  Li- 
vingstone at  Old  Deer,  Skinner  at  Longside,  and  Farquhar  at  Dumfries, 
"  Nonjuring  Episcopal  ministers,  who  have  qualified  in  terms  of  the 
law  act."*  But  this  compliance  with  the  act,  in  the  case  of  those  and 
other  clergymen,  was  of  no  avail,  nor  did  it  at  all  preclude  them  from  its 
operation.  In  December  1747  four  soldiers  rushed  suddenly  into  a  room 
in  Perth,  in  which  the  Rev.  George  Sempell  was  performing  divine  ser- 
vice, and  finding  his  audience  more  numerous  than  the  law  allowed, 
they  secured  him  ;  he  was  carried  before  the  magistrates  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  and  committed  to  prison  for  six  months,  in  terms  of  the  act. 

*  Scots  Magazine  (September,  1746),  vol.  viii.  p.  846. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  295 

The  persons  present  were  also  cited  to  appear,  and  to  pay  their  fine  of 
L.5  each,  but  they  proved  that  they  had  given  information  within  the 
proper  time,  and  were  "  assoilzied."*  In  the  month  of  March  1748, 
the  Rev.  Messrs  John  Petrie  at  Drumlithie,  Alexander  Greig  at  Stone- 
haven, and  John  Troop  at  Muchals,  Episcopal  ministers,  were  appre- 
hended for  violating  the  act,  and  committed  prisoners  to  the  jail  of 
Stonehaven  for  six  months.!  The  act  of  1746  left  the  Episcopal  clergy 
only/oi*r  hearers  besides  the  family,  but  in  May  1748  that  act  was  re- 
vised and  amended ;  and  it  was  enacted— for  clearing  a  doubt,  whether  by  a 
clause  in  the  act  19th  George  II.  concerning  Episcopal  meeting-houses, 
any  letters  of  orders  other  than  those  granted  by  Bishops  of  the  Church  of 
England  or  of  Ireland,  were  entitled  to  be  registered  before  the  1st  of  Sep- 
tember 1740—"  That  no  letters  of  orders  not  granted  by  some  Bishop  of 
the  Church  of  England  or  of  Ireland  shall,  from  and  after  the  29th  of  Sep- 
tember 1748,  be  sufficient  to  qualify  any  pastor  or  minister  of  any  Epis- 
copal meeting  in  Scotland,  whether  the  same  were  registered  before  or 
after  the  said  1st  of  September  174G,  and  that  every  such  registration, 
either  made  before  or  after  the  said  1st  of  September,  shall,  from  and  after 
the  said  29th  of  September  1748,  be  null  and  void."  There  was  another 
clause  which  prevented  any  persons  from  officiating  as  chaplains  in  private 
families,  or  from  preaching  or  performing  any  divine  service  in  houses 
or  families  of  which  they  were  not  the  masters,  except  "  the  ministers, 
elders,  or  preachers  of  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland." 

When  this  act  was  introduced  into  Parliament  it  met  with  some 
opposition  in  the  House  of  Commons.  It  nevertheless  passed,  ehiefly 
through  the  management  of  Mr  Grant,  Lord  Advocate,  afterwards  a 
judge  in  the  Supreme  Court  by  the  title  of  Lord  Prestongrange.  It 
appears  from  the  list  of  Scottish  members  in  this  Parliament,  that  with 
rery  few  exceptions  they  vere  in  favour  of  the  clause,  being  determined 
enemi<  b  to  the  exiled  dynasty.  But  the  clause  was  received  in  a  differ- 
ent manner  in  the  House  of  Lords.  In  committee  it  was  unanimously 
Opposed  by  the  Bishops  and  several  Peers,  and  it  was  thrown  out  by  ,i 

majority  of  :vj  against  us.     A  new  debate  ensued,  however,  upon  the 

report,  when,  by  the  influence  of  the  Lord  Chancellor  Hardwicke,  who 

apported  by  all  the  Scottish  Representative  Peers  except  the  Bar! 

•  Scots  I    [bid.  rol.  \.  p    ! 


290  HISTORY  OF  THE 

of  Moray,  it  was  replaced,  and  carried  by  a  majority  of  37  to  32.  It  is 
not  unlikely  that  the  Scottish  Peers  were  considerably  influenced  by 
the  Earl  of  Leven,  who  held  the  office  at  this  time  of  Lord  High  Com- 
missioner to  the  General  Assembly.  There  can  be  little  doubt,  at  least, 
as  was  hinted  in  the  House  of  Lords,  that  Presbyterian  interest  sug- 
gested the  clause  which  passed  into  a  law.  Not  one  of  the  English 
Bishops,  not  even  Dr  Hoadley,  spoke  in  favour  of  it,  and  some  of  them, 
especially  the  Bishops  of  London,  Lincoln,  Oxford,  and  Worcester, 
strenuously  opposed  it,  as  interfering  with  the  rights  of  ordination,  and 
as  a  matter  beyond  the  limits  of  parliamentary  cognizance. 

The  debate  in  the  House  of  Lords  was  of  considerable  interest.  The 
most  extraordinary  opinions  were  stated  by  several  Peers,  who  denied 
that  it  was  a  hardship  to  the  clergy,  seeing  they  could  take  orders  in  Eng- 
land or  Ireland  a  second  time  !  Bishop  Maddox  of  Worcester  indignant- 
ly denounced  the  proposed  new  act.  "  As  to  these  poor  clergymen/'  he 
said,  "  who  may  by  this  clause  be  deprived  of  their  only  means  of  sub- 
sistence, notwithstanding  their  having  taken  the  oaths  to  the  Government, 
I  am  really  sorry  to  hear  it  suggested  by  an  honourable  gentleman  that 
they  might  choose  some  other  employment  for  the  support  of  themselves 
and  families.  Alas !  a  clergyman  in  holy  orders  is  expressly  forbid 
by  the  canons  to  give  himself  to  any  base  or  servile  labour  ;  and  what 
other  sort  of  employment  can  a  poor  man  choose,  who  has  no  stock,  un- 
less it  be  a  stock  of  learning,  and  a  few  books  in  his  study  ?  To  deprive 
these  men,  therefore,  of  the  liberty  of  officiating  in  any  meeting-house 
in  Scotland  is  really  to  deprive  them  of  their  daily  bread.  This  clause 
is  fraught  with  such  dangerous  consequences  to  the  public,  and  such 
great  hardships  upon  private  men,  that  I  can  neither  as  a  Christian,  a 
Churchman,  an  Englishman,  a  faithful  subject  of  his  Majesty,  nor  as 
a  man  of  any  humanity,  give  my  consent  to  its  being  passed  into  a 
law." 

In  this  speech  there  are  some  admirable  remarks,  which  are  worthy  of 
being  brought  before  the  notice  of  the  reader.  It  had  been  argued  by  some 
of  the  Government  party  that  no  man  would  receive  orders  from  a  Non- 
juring  Bishop  in  Scotland  unless  he  had  been  educated  from  his  infancy 
in  Jacobite  principles.  "  This  supposition,"  says  his  Lordship,  "  there 
would,  I  shall  grant,  be  some  ground  for  if  those  of  the  Episcopal  per- 
suasion in  Scotland  had  any  choice.     But  we  all  know  they  have  no 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUliCH.  297 

choice.  A  man  who  is  of  that  religion  in  Scotland,  and  designs  to  be  a 
minister  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  must  necessarily  receive  orders  from  a 
Nonjuring  Bishop,  because  there  are  none  others  in  the  country.  I  say 
he  must  necessarily  receive  orders  from  such  a  Bishop,  unless  he  has 
money  to  bear  the  expense  of  a  journey  to  England  or  Ireland,  and 
friends  there  to  give  him  a  title  and  testimonials,  which  we  cannot  sup- 
pose any  man  has  who  designs  to  exercise  his  functions  in  that  country, 
where  he  can  expect  no  preferment,  nor  any  maintenance  but  what  de- 
pends upon  the  generosity  and  good  will  of  his  hearers,  which  they  di- 
minish or  wholly  withdraw  whenever  they  please.  For  these  reasons  I 
must  think  there  is  not  the  least  ground  for  this  supposition.  On 
the  contrary,  as  there  is  nothing  in  the  ceremony  of  ordination,  no  oaths 
to  be  taken,  nor  promises  made  but  what  may  be  taken  and  made  by  a 
man  perfectly  well  affected  to  our  present  happy  Establishment ;  and  as  I 
have  been  credibly  informed  that  the  Nonjuring  Bishops  in  Scotland  have 
added  nothing  to  this  ceremony,  I  think  I  have  good  reason  to  suppose 
that  the  Nonjuring  Bishops  in  Scotland  have  ordained  several  persons 
who  have  been  bred  up  in  principles  agreeable  to  our  present  constitu- 
tion, and  who  were  ready  to  take  the  oaths  to  the  Government  as  soon  as 
necessary  ;  for  no  man  ought,  I  think,  to  take  an  oath,  not  even  the  oaths 
to  the  Government,  till  it  becomes  necessary  for  him  to  do  so."  The 
Bishop  farther  declared,  that  "if  the  clause  in  the  former  act  be  ex- 
plained as  intended  by  that  now  under  our  consideration,  I  shall  look  upon 
it  as  contrived  and  promoted  by  the  Presbyterians  in  Scotland,  not  with 
a  design  to  secure,  but  to  endanger  our  present  happy  Establishment,  by 
leaving  tho  Episcopal  party  in  Scotland  still  under  the  influence  of  Non- 
juring  clergymen,  and  bringing  upon  his  Majesty's  reign  the  odium  of 
having  passed  an  act  to  abolish  the  remains  of  Episcopacy  in  that  kingdom." 
Dr  Sherlock,  Bishop  of  London,  concluded  a  very  able  speech  in  the 
following  manner: — "  In  short,  there  arc  so  many  difficulties,  that  I  must 
suppose  this  clause  to  havo  been  suggested  by  some  Presbyterian,  or  some 
enemy  to  the  Church  of  England ;  and,  therefore,  I  hope  that  next  ses- 
sion something  new  will  be  thought  of  for  supplying  the  Episcopal 
mil  in  Scotland  with  qualified  Bishops  as  well  as  minister-.      In  the 

meantime  I  shall  l><'  against  any  thing  that  will  deprive  the  Church 
there  of  any  of  the  qualified  ministers  they  now  hare,  and  Bhall  therefore 
kinst  the  olause  now  under  our  consideration." 


298  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Dr  Seeker,  then  Lord  Bishop  of  Oxford,  was  not  less  happy  and  for 
eible  in  his  illustrations.  After  reciting  a  part  of  the  act  of  174G,  which 
rendered  it  necessary  that  all  Episcopal  clergymen  in  Scotland  should 
register  their  chapels  according  to  law,  he  proceeded — "  Now,  by 
this  act  you  gave  an  opportunity  to,  and  consequently  invited,  all  mini- 
sters of  Episcopal  congregations  who  had  not  before  qualified  to  come  in 
and  take  the  oaths  appointed  by  law  without  distinction,  whether  they 
had  received  their  orders  from  a  Nonjuring  Protestant  Bishop  in  Scot- 
land, or  from  a  Bishop  of  the  Church  of  England  or  of  Ireland  ;  and 
upon  this  invitation  I  am  told  that  several  of  the  Episcopal  ministers 
who  had  received  orders  from  the  Nonjuring  Bishops  in  Scotland  did 
accordingly  take  the  oaths  and  register  their  meetings,  in  hope  that  for 
the  future  they  would  be  entitled  to  exercise  their  functions,  and  there- 
by support  themselves  and  families,  without  let  or  disturbance.  But 
what  are  you  now  to  do  with  this  clause  ?  These  poor  men  have  probably 
disobliged  some  of  their  best  friends,  and  rendered  themselves  obnoxious 
to  their  whole  party,  by  accepting  your  invitation,  and  now,  by  a  law 
ex  post  facto,  you  are  to  deprive  them  of  the  only  means  of  subsistence 
they  have  left.  After  what  I  have  said,  I  think  I  need  not  observe  that 
the  clause  now  under  our  consideration  really  seems  to  be  an  encroach- 
ment upon  the  Christian  religion  as  professed  by  the  Church  of  England. 
It  seems,  in  my  opinion,  to  arrogate  to  the  civil  authority  a  power  to  de- 
termine whether  a  priest  has  been  duly  and  regularly  ordained,  or  a 
Bishop  consecrated — a  question  with  which  no  true  member  of  the 
Church  of  England  will  allow  the  civil  authority  to  have  any  thing  to 
do.  It  is  the  Church  only  that  can  determine  this  question,  and  if  the 
Church  determines  that  a  priest  has  been  duly  and  regularly  ordained, 
he  ought  not  by  any  civil  authority  to  be  debarred  the  exercise  of  his 
function,  provided  he  conforms  in  every  other  respect  to  the  law." 

Lord  Sandys  observed — "  There  were  certainly  Bishops  in  the  Chris- 
tian Church  long  before  there  was  any  thing  like  a  conge  oVelire,  or  any 
authority  from  the  supreme  power  in  the  country  to  choose  a  Bishop. 
Suppose  that  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution  the  clergy  of  the  Church 
of  England  had  adhered  as  obstinately  to  their  principle  of  passive 
obedience  and  non-resistance  as  the  clergy  of  the  Church  of  Scotland 
did,  and  that  in  consequence  the  Church  of  England  had  undergone  the 
same  fate  with  her  sister  Church  of  Scotland,  could  not  the  Church  party 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  299 

in  England  have  fallen  upon  a  method  for  continuing  their  succession 
of  Bishops,  without  having  an  authority  from  the  King  for  so  doing  ? 
Naj,  would  they  not  by  the  tenets  of  their  religion  have  been  bound 
in  conscience  to  do  so,  and  would  it  not  have  been  persecution  to  have 
punished  them  solely  for  doing  so?— I  do  not  believe  that  King  William 
would  have  subjected  them  to  any  punishment,  if  they  had  chosen  for 
themselves  Bishops  in  the  room  of  those  deceased,  after  the  same  man- 
ner that  Bishops  were  chosen  by  the  primitive  Christians  before  Chris- 
tianity came  to  be  the  established  religion  of  any  kingdom  or  common- 
wealth.    We  can  have  no  reason  to  exclude  from  the  pastoral  office 
even  those  who  have  been  ordained  by  the  Protestant  Bishops  in  Scot- 
land ;  and  I  must  think  that  this  affair  should  have  been  a  little  more 
inquired  into  before  we  agreed  to  that  clause  in  the  former  law  (1740), 
which  declares  all  letters  of  orders  insufficient  unless  given  by  some 
Bishops  of  the  Church  of  England  or  Ireland.     I  heartily  wish  that  a 
great  many  more  of  the  Episcopal  ministers  in  Scotland  had  come  in 
and  qualified,  and  I  think  that  we  ought  not  to  reject  the  assistance  of 
those  that  have  ;  therefore  I  hope  this  unnecessary  clause  will  be  left 
out  of  the  bill." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  intention  of  these  statutes  of  174G 
and  1748  was  utterly  to  annihilate  the  Episcopal  succession  in  Scot- 
land ;  for  it  was  now  impossible  for  a  clergyman  of  indigenous  ordina- 
tion to  obtain  a  congregation,  and  the  attachment  of  the  laity  to  their 
native  Church  was  attempted  to  be  alienated  by  placing  them  under  po- 
litical and  civil  disabilities  if  they  still  persisted  in  adhering  to  the  re- 
ligion of  their  fathers.     Even  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  which  the 
Presbyterians  designate  the  time  of  persecution,  their  ministers  were 
permitted  to  retain  the  parish  churches,  when  the  Episcopal  Church 
was  the  national  legal  establishment,  if  they  accepted  the  Indulgence, 
which  was  simply  yielding  obedience  to  the  Government.    Buttho  Scot- 
tish  Episcopalians  in  1748  were  denied  tho  privilege  of  political  re- 
pentance,  and   the   conduct  they  exhibited   under   theil  sufferings  and 
heavy  depression  was  that  of  the  meekness  of  true  Christians  under  ca- 
lamities which   they  could  not  avert.     Instead  of  denouncing  the  I 
\.  in  mi  11 1  in  their  private  assemblies,  or  betaking  themselves  to  the 
fields,  like   the  dangerous  enthusiasts  of  the  preceding  century,  they 
tough!  to  administer  the  rites  of  religion  in  as  private  and  unostenta 


300  HISTORY  OF  THE 

tious  a  manner  as  possible,  trusting  to  better  times,  and  to  the  Provi- 
dence of  their  Divine  Master,  who  maketh  "  all  things  work  together 
for  good  to  them  that  love  Him." 

The  encouragement  given  by  the  act  1746  to  clergymen  of  English 
and  Irish  ordination,  brought  numbers  of  those  gentlemen  into  Scotland, 
who  soon  obtained  qualified  chapels  and  congregations  in  the  large  towns. 
Since  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne  there  had  always  been  a  few  clergymen 
of  such  ordination,  but  they  recognised  the  Scottish  Bishops  as  their 
Diocesans.  After  1748  the  number  increased,  yet  their  congregations 
could  not  be  called  Episcopal,  for  they  were  under  no  Diocesan,  and  it 
need  hardly  be  observed  that  an  Episcopal  Church  without  a  Bishop  is 
a  contradiction  in  terms.  The  English  or  Irish  Bishops  who  ordained 
them  could  have  no  jurisdiction  in  Scotland,  yet  it  is  stated  that  the 
celebrated  Bishop  Pococke,  when  in  Scotland  on  an  antiquarian  tour, 
administered  confirmation  in  some  of  those  congregations  ;  and  Bishop 
Trail,  of  Down  and  Connor,  who  was  originally  a  Presbyterian,  actu- 
ally admitted  a  person  into  priest's  orders  in  Scotland,  though  a  Scot- 
tish Bishop  resided  in  the  very  town  where  his  Lordship  chose  to  hold 
this  singular  ordination.  In  Edinburgh  and  other  cities  and  towns  se- 
veral qualified  chapels  of  this  description  were  soon  opened  or  erected, 
and  the  following  record  is  curious  as  contrasted  with  the  present  time  : — 
"  An  organ  was  set  up  in  one  of  the  qualified  meeting-houses  in  Edin- 
burgh, about  the  beginning  of  December  1747,  and  draws  several  per- 
sons thither  out  of  curiosity."* 

So  vigilantly  were  the  Scottish  Episcopal  clergy  watched  after  the 
passing  of  the  clause  in  1748,  that  it  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty 
they  could  celebrate  any  of  the  services  of  religion.  There  are  instances 
of  individual  clergymen  performing  public  worship  no  less  than  sixteen 
times  in  one  day,  yet  the  more  they  were  persecuted  the  more  were 
their  people  attached  to  them.  The  contrivances  to  which  the  clergy 
were  put,  in  order  that  they  might  perform  the  rites  of  religion  without 
incurring  legal  vengeance,  were  at  least  as  singular  as  those  of  the  clergy 
of  the  Church  of  England  after  the  murder  of  Charles  I.  The  sacra- 
ment of  baptism  was  often  administered  in  woods  and  sequestered  places, 
and  the  holy  communion  with  the  utmost  privacy  ;  confirmations  were 

*  Scots  Magazine,  vol.  ix.  p.  608. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  301 

held  with  closed  doors  in  private  houses,  and  divine  service  often  per- 
formed in  the  open  air  in  the  Northern  counties,  amid  the  mountains,  or 
in  the  recesses  of  forests.  The  chapels  were  all  shut  up  and  the  doors 
made  fast  by  iron  bars  under  the  authority  of  the  sheriffs,  who  often 
had  to  discharge  this  obnoxious  duty  amid  the  tears,  entreaties,  exe- 
crations, and  decided  hostility  of  the  people.  In  the  register  of  the 
Episcopal  Chapel  at  Muthill  in  Perthshire,  for  example,  there  is  an 
entry,  under  date  March  20,  1750,  in  the  handwriting  of  the  Rev.  Wil- 
liam Erskine,  presbyter  there,  father  of  the  late  William  Erskine,  Esq. 
one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Scottish  Supreme  Court  under  the  title  of 
Lord  Kinneder — "  N.B. — With  such  excessive  severity  were  the  penal 
laws  executed  at  this  time,  that  Andrew  Moir,  having  neglected  to  keep 
his  appointment  with  me  at  my  own  house  this  morning,  and  following 
me  to  Lord  Rollo's  house  of  Duncruib,  we  could  not  take  the  child  into 
a  house,  but  I  was  obliged  to  go  under  the  cover  of  trees  in  one  of  Lord 
Rollo'^  parks  to  prevent  our  being  discovered,  and  baptize  the  child 
there." 

Numerous  examples  of  a  similar  kind  might  be  given  of  the  hard- 
ships, privations,  and  sufferings  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  clergy  after 
the  suppression  of  the  Enterprise  of  1745,  and  especially  after  the  act 
of  1748.     But  they  persisted  in  discharging  their  sacred  functions,  and 
no  acts  of  Parliament  could  alienate  the  affections  of  their  people,  among 
whom  they  continued  to  reside,  and  by  whom  they  were  enthusiastically 
supported.     The  expedients  adopted  to  evade  the  law  which  liberally 
allowed  the  clergy  four  hearers,  besides  the  members  of  the  family,  in 
celebrating  divine  service,  were  various  and  ingenious.     In  some  cases 
in   several  districts  the  people   were  congregated  at  the  mansions  of 
noblemen  and  gentlemen.     The  service  was  performed  by  the  officiating 
clergymen  in  a  large  room  on  the  ground  floor ;   into  which  were  the 
clergyman,  the  family,  and  four  persons.    The  window  frames,  however, 
were  removed,  and  as  many  as  could  look  in  or  hear  from  the  outside 
listened  and  responded.     If  the  apartment  was  so  constructed  that  it 
communicated  by  wide  folding  doors  with  another  room,  the  doors  were 
removed  for  the  time,  and  that  room  was  filled  with  people,  who  <«'uld 
hear  and  Bee  with  the  greatest  ease,  whilo  in  the  other  apartment  were 
only  the  clergyman,  the  family,  and  four  persons.     If  the  apartment 
was  Dot  bo  constructed,  the  passages  and  staircases  were  crowded  with 


302  HISTORY  OF  THE 

auditors,  and  every  spot  in  the  vicinity  of  the  room  where  the  pastor's 
voice  could  be  heard.  This  mode  of  procedure  was  very  common  in 
the  counties  of  Perth,  Forfar,  Kincardine,  and  Aberdeen,  and  it  is  said 
that  among  others,  the  Noble  Family  of  Airlie  in  Forfarshire  particu- 
larly distinguished  themselves,  by  affording  such  facilities  to  evade  the 
enactment  by  keeping  the  people  together,  and  regularly  celebrating  di- 
vine worship. 

The  service  was  also  often  performed  in  farm-houses,  or  in  the  out- 
houses of  the  farm-house,  if  these  were  conveniently  constructed.  In  either 
case  the  clergyman,  the  family,  and  four  persons,  were  in  the  apart- 
ment, and  dozens  or  hundreds  of  others,  in  proportion  to  the  attend- 
ance, stationed  themselves  in  as  favourable  positions  as  they  could,  to 
listen  to  the  prayers  of  the  Church.  Sometimes  divine  service  was  ce- 
lebrated under  a  shed,  in  which  was  the  number  allowed  by  law,  while 
the  people  stood  at  a  small  distance  in  the  open  air.  At  times,  again, 
when  there  was  no  apparent  danger,  pastor  and  people  met  in  the  re- 
cesses of  woods,  in  secluded  glens,  and  on  the  sides  of  sequestered 
mountains,  when  the  vault  of  heaven  was  their  covering,  the  moss  turfs 
their  humble  altar,  and  perhaps  a  solitary  seat  the  pulpit,  and  all 
would  kneel  together  in  one  holy  bond,  beseeching  God  to  have  pity  on 
the  suffering  Church,  evermore  to  preserve  them  in  its  unity,  and  to  de- 
liver them  from  "  all  false  doctrine,  heresy,  and  schism." 

In  the  towns  and  villages  various  expedients  were  adopted  to  bring 
the  people  together,  and  to  edify  them  by  the  performance  of  divine  wor- 
ship. At  times  parties  of  them  would  resort  to  the  residence  of  the 
clergyman  in  succession,  when  the  service  of  the  Church  was  read,  and 
a  short  sermon  delivered  ;  at  other  times  the  clergyman  was  invited  to 
private  houses,  where  he  found  a  number  of  people  assembled  in  various 
rooms.  The  outer  doors  were  instantly  locked,  and  stationing  himself 
in  the  passage  or  staircase,  he  in  this  position,  and  elevating  his  voice, 
performed  the  whole  service.  It  is  said  that  the  delight  and  edification 
which  the  people  declared  they  felt  at  the  conclusion  of  the  morning  and 
evening  service,  in  such  circumstances  and  on  such  occasions,  almost  sur- 
passed credibility. 

By  resorting  to  such  and  other  expedients  the  suffering  Episcopal 
clergy  and  laity  of  Scotland  pursued  the  "  even  tenor  of  their  way" 
some  years  after  1748.     It  is  hardly  necessary  to  observe,  that  at  such 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  303 

meetings  no  psalms  were  sung,  as  that  would  have  attracted  notice  from 
the  outside  or  at  a  distance.  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain  the  num- 
bers of  the  clergy  thrown  into  prison  for  six  months.  Many  were  ap- 
prehended, who  after  a  short  confinement  were  liberated  on  bail,  or  on 
their  own  recognizances.  In  1753  the  Government  chose  to  prosecute  a 
clergyman  whose  name  will  ever  be  remembered  with  veneration  in  the 
Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  and  is  imperishably  associated  with  Scot- 
tish poetry  and  song,  but  still  more  with  theological  learning  and  eccle- 
siastical history.  This  was  the  Rev.  John  Skinner  of  Longside,  in  the 
county  of  Aberdeen,  who,  it  is  already  mentioned,  was  one  of  those  who 
qualified  himself  in  1746,  but  which  was  of  no  avail  to  him  by  the 
amended  act  of  1748. 

The  commitment  of  Mr  Skinner  is  thus  recorded  in  the  Scots  Ma- 
gazine for  June  1753  : — "  Mr  John  Skinner  at  Longside,  Aberdeen- 
shire, a  Nonjurant  Episcopal  clergyman,  was  carried  to  Aberdeen  in 
May  last,  on  an  information  that  he  had  transgressed  the  late  acts,  which 
forbid  every  such  clergyman  to  preach  or  perform  divine  service  in 
any  house  or  family  of  which  he  is  not  master,  or  even  in  his  own 
house,  if  more  than  four  persons  besides  his  own  family  be  present,  and 
was  on  his  own  confession  committed  to  prison  for  six  months  by  the 
sheriff."* 

It  is  stated  by  a  near  relative  of  Mr  Skinner,  that  although  he  "  be- 
came a  conscientious  convert  from  Presbyterianism  to  Episcopacy,  and 
had  no  scruple  to  join  with  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  in  a  warm 
and  generous  sympathy  for  the  sufferings  of  the  unfortunate  House  of 
Stuart,  yet  did  he  never  entertain  a  wish  for  the  restoration  of  that 
exiled  family  with  a  view  to  any  benefit  that  might  have  been  expected 
from  it,  either  to  the  nation  at  large,  or  to  that  particular  religious  so- 
ciety of  which  he  was  a  member,  "t  "  When  liberated  in  course  of 
law,"  says  the  same  relative,  "and  anxious  to  resume  the  care  of  his 
destitute  flock,  he  felt  the  tics  of  duty  as  their  faithful  pastor  greatly 
strengthened  by  gratitude  for  their  attention  during  his  absence  to  his 
wife  and  helpless  family,  which  then  consisted  of  six  young  children,  all, 
under  God,  depending  on  him  for  their  support.     During  his  residence 

•  Scots  Magazine,  vol.  xv.  p.  309. 

f   Theological  Works  of  the  late  Rev.   John  Skinner,  with  a  Memoir  by  the  Rev. 
John  Skinner,  M.A.,  Forfar,  vol.  i.  p.  204- 


304  HISTORY  OF  THE 

in  a  common  prison,  and  suffering  all  the  hardships  of  close  confinement, 
next  to  a  humble  trust  in  the  Divine  goodness  his  chief  resource  lay  in 
the  conversation  of  a  few  worthy  friends  at  the  hours  when  they  were 
allowed  to  visit  him,  and  in  the  liberal  supply  of  books  which  they  had 
the  means  of  procuring  for  him.  These  were  his  constant  companions 
when  all  others  were  excluded,  and  he  has  been  often  heard  to  say 
that  no  six  months  of  his  life  ever  passed  away  with  so  little  interrup- 
tion to  his  studies  and  improvement  as  the  term  of  his  legal  imprison- 
ment." 

Previous  to  this  affair,  however,  Mr  Skinner  had  suffered  severely 
from  a  military  visit.  "  On  coming  home  one  evening,"  says  his  grand- 
son, "  from  performing  an  occasional  office  in  the  way  of  his  duty,  he 
found  his  house  in  the  possession  of  a  military  party,  some  of  them 
guarding  the  door  with  fixed  bayonets,  and  others  searching  the  several 
apartments,  even  the  bed-chamber  where  Mrs  Skinner  was  lying  in  of 
her  fifth  child,  and  little  able  to  bear  such  a  rude  unseasonable  visit. 
No  lenity  was  to  be  looked  for  from  such  unfeeling  visitors,  who  pillaged 
the  house  of  every  thing  they  could  carry  with  them,  hardly  leaving  a 
change  of  linen  to  father,  mother,  or  child  in  the  family.  The  chapel, 
with  all  its  furniture,  was  destroyed,  and  for  several  years  the  congre- 
gation could  find  no  place  to  meet  in  for  public  worship  but  the  clergy- 
man's house,  which  not  being  sufficiently  large,  many  of  them  were 
obliged  to  stand  in  the  open  air  during  divine  service.  As  this  inconve- 
nience, with  other  disheartening  circumstances,  was  likely  to  operate  on 
weak  minds,  to  the  discouragement  of  Episcopal  principles,  Mr  Skinner 
was  induced  to  write  a  small  tract,  which  was  printed  in  the  year  1746, 
under  the  title  of  a  Preservative  against  Presbytery,  chiefly  designed  for 
the  instruction  of  the  people  under  his  immediate  charge,  and  suited  to 
the  alarming  apprehensions  then  entertained  of  the  total  extirpation  of 
Scottish  Episcopacy,  as  far  as  human  power  could  accomplish  such  an 
object." 

With  his  usual  characteristic  modesty,  Mr  Skinner,  in  his  valuable 
Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland,  omits  any  direct  allusions  to  his  own 
sufferings  and  privations  in  the  cause  of  the  Church.  For  many  years, 
in  consequence  of  the  severity  of  the  laws,  he  was  obliged  either  to  offi- 
ciate to  his  own  congregation  in  fours,  or  to  take  four  within,  and 
allow  the  rest  to  hear  him  as  they  best  could  through  the  open  doors 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  305 

and  windows.  Mr  Skinner  passed  sixty-five  years  in  the  laborious 
charge  of  a  numerous  congregation,  and  he  answered  almost  literally  to 
Goldsmith's  well  known  description  of  a  village  pastor — 

"  A  man  he  was  to  all  the  country  clear, 
And  passing  rich  with  forty  pounds  a  year ; 
Remote  from  towns  he  ran  his  godly  race, 
Nor  e'er  had  chang'd,  nor  wish'd  to  change,  his  place." 

"  Those,"  says  a  popular  writer,  "who  become  acquainted  with  the 
Apostolic  Church  of  Scotland  through  the  medium  of  the  handsome 
fanes  which  she  has  reared  of  late  years  in  the  principal  towns,  know  in 
general  little  of  the  humble  circumstances  in  which  she  exists  in  the  va- 
rious rural  districts  where  a  remnant  of  her  communion  has  been  left. 
Mr  Skinner's  parsonage  at  Linshart,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  village 
of  Longside,  was  simply  a  thatched  cottage  of  the  usual  appearance. 
The  fire-places,  according  to  the  usage  in  Buchan,  contained  no  grates 
—the  fires,  composed  of  peats,  were  kindled  on  the  hearth.  So  lately 
as  1826,  when  the  present  writer  visited  the  house,  and  found  it  occu- 
pied by  Mr  Skinner's  grandson  and  successor,  the  Rev.  Mr  Cumming, 
it  remained  in  this  condition — a  striking  and  even  affecting  memorial 
not  only  of  the  poet,  but  of  the  depressed  Christian  body  to  which  he 
belonged.  The  bed  and  other  chief  articles  of  furniture  were  the  same 
which  had  served  Mr  Skinner  during  his  long  tenancy  of  the  house,  and 
the  walls  were  still  ornamented  with  a  set  of  family  portraits  in  chalk, 
the  work  of  some  wandering  artist."* 

Another  clergyman  who  more  seriously  encountered  the  vengeance  of 
the  Government  was  the  Rev.  James  Connachar,  who  was  tried  before 
the  Circuit  Court  of  Justiciary  at  Inverary.  Of  this  gentleman  it  is 
observed  by  Arnot — "  His  residence  in  a  wild  district  of  the  High- 
lands, where  there  was  not  within  many  miles  a  man  of  his  knowledge 
and  learning,  gave  him  a  degree  of  consequence,  to  which  his  irreproach- 
able morals  and  unaffected  piety  added  singular  importance  ;  but  his 
virtues  were  poisoned  by  his  attachment  to  an  unfortunate  Family,  and 
the  eminence  of  his  situation  and  character,  which  in  better  times  would 

•   The  Land  of  Burns,  4to,  1838.   The  Literary  Department  by  Professor  Wilson 
and  Robert  Chambers,  Esq.  p.  G3,  64. 

U 


306  HISTORY  OF  THE 

have  commanded  felicity,  served  only  to  attract  the  fire  of  political  ven- 
geance. He  was  marked  out  as  a  victim,  whose  ruin  was  to  confound 
the  remains  of  a  vanquished  party."* 

In  1755,  Mr  Connachar  was  apprehended  in  his  own  house,  upwards 
of  twelve  miles  north-west  of  Stirling,  by  a  military  party  on  the  30th 
of  January — a  day  on  which  it  was  expected  he  and  his  congregation 
would  be  engaged  in  their  proscribed  worship.  He  was  carried  to  Stir- 
ling, and  committed  to  the  common  jail  by  a  warrant  of  the  Lord  Justice- 
Clerk  Erskine  and  the  Lords  of  Justiciary,  dated  Jan.  21,  1755.  This 
warrant  proceeded  upon  a  petition  from  the  Lord  A  dvocate,  setting  forth 
that  Mr  Connachar,  "without  having  letters  of  orders  in  terms  of  law, 
and  without  having  taken  the  oaths  to  the  Government,  had  presumed 
to  officiate  as  a  minister,  by  praying  and  preaching  to  great  numbers  of 
people,  and  administering  the  sacraments,  at  divers  times  and  places  in 
the  countries  of  Appin  and  Lochaber,  in  the  months  of  September,  Oc- 
tober, November,  and  December  last: — that  Mr  Connachar  was  a 
stirrer  up  of  sedition,  his  sermons  being  calculated  to  alienate  the  minds 
of  his  hearers  from  their  duty  and  allegiance  : — and  that  the  petitioner 
intended  to  bring  him  to  trial  for  these  offences." 

Mr  Connachar  applied  to  the  Lord  Justice-Clerk  to  be  admitted  to  bail, 
which  was  granted,  but  the  Lord  Advocate  was  determined  not  to  lose 
sight  of  his  victim.  Previous  to  the  bail  being  admitted,  a  second  pe- 
tition was  presented  to  the  Lord  Justice-  Clerk,  reciting  all  the  charges 
in  the  former  one,  and  setting  forth  that,  besides  the  offences  for  which 
Mr  Connachar  was  incarcerated,  he  was  also  to  be  tried  on  the  statute  of 
1  Charles  II.  1661,  against  celebrating  clandestine  and  irregular  mar- 
riages. By  the  acts  of  1746  and  1748,  this  clergyman  could  only,  as  in 
the  case  of  Mr  Skinner  and  others,  have  been  imprisoned  six  months, 
but  by  that  of  Charles  II.  he  might  be  condemned  to  perpetual  banish- 
ment. 

The  trial  took  place  at  Inverary  before  Lord?  Strichen  and  Drum- 
more,  two  of  the  Justiciary  Judges,  and  it  seems  to  have  been  purposely 
held  at  that  great  distance  from  Stirling,  in  a  district  where  several 
important  local  incidents  made  it  evident  that  the  jury  would  evince  no 
great  inclination  to  acquit  the  prisoner.      He  was  charged  with  two 

*   Criminal  Trials  in  Scotland,  p.  339. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  307 

offences — the  celebration  of  marriage  without  being  lawfully  authorised 
by  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland,  or  by  any  other  legal  authority, 
and  also  for  celebrating  it  in  a  clandestine  and  disorderly  manner,  con- 
trary to  1  Charles  II.,  sess.  1,  c.  34.     "  It  was  pled  for  the  prisoner," 
to  adopt  the  condensed  account  of  the  trial  by  Arnot,  "  that  the  statute 
libelled  on  had  been  established  directly  with  a  view  to  support  Episco- 
pacy against  sectaries,  and  therefore  to  turn  it  as  an  engine  of  destruc- 
tion against  that  religion  which  it  was  meant  to  protect  was  totally  to 
invert  its  purposes  ; — that  all  the  acts  in  favour  of  Episcopacy  had  been 
abolished  by  William  and  Mary  ; — that  it  behoved  Episcopacy  either  to 
be  the  established  religion  or  not.     If  it  was  the  established  religion, 
the  priest  could  not  be  condemned  as  unqualified  to  celebrate  marriage. 
If  it  was  not  the  established  religion,  it  must  be  ranked  among  the  sects 
of  Nonconformity,  and  even  in  that  case  the  clergyman  was  equally  safe, 
for  all  laws  against  Nonconformists  were  repealed  by  act  1690.     This 
construction  of  the  statutes  was  confirmed  by  the  universal  sense  of  the 
nation,  for  although  thousands  of  marriages  had  been  celebrated  not 
only  by  Episcopal  clergymen,  but  by  dissenters  of  all  sorts,  no  prosecu- 
tion had  ever  been  brought  on  this  branch  of  the  statute  alone.     Nay, 
so  little  was  our  [the  Scottish]  law  scrupulous  as  to  a  clergyman,  the 
celebrator  of  a  marriage,  being  ordained  by  the  Established  Church, 
that  a  valid  marriage  might  be  pronounced  by  any  civil  magistrate — 
indeed,  that  the  ceremony  of  marriage  is  totally  unnecessary  to  its  vali- 
dity.    As  to  the  second  offence  charged  against  him,  the  celebration  of 
marriage  in  a  clandestine  and  disorderly  way,   it  was  proved  on  behalf 
of  the  prisoner  that  the  parish  in  which  he  lived,  as  well  as  the  next 
parish,   had  been  some   time  vacant,  so  that  in  the  district  where  he 
lived  there  was  no  clergyman  but  himself,  in  a  space  of  twenty  miles."* 
Other  evidence  was  led  to  show  that  Mr  Connachar  scrupulously  cele- 
brated marriages  in  the  most  regular  manner  both  as  to  the  legal  and  ce- 
remonial parts  of  the  contract,  and  that  ho  had  refused  to  officiate  at  a 
marriage  in  a  clandestine  manner,  although  ten  guineas  had  been  offer- 
ed as  an  inducement.     Notwithstanding  these  statements  the  Lords  of 
Justiciary  found  the  first  as  well  as  the  second  article  of  the  indictment 
relevant,  as  it  is  expressed  in  Scottish   Legal  phraseology,  ><<  inftr  the 

'  Criminal  Trials  in  Scotland,  \>.  841,  -"'42. 


308  HISTORY  OF  THE 

pains  of  law.  Mr  Connachar's  counsel  reminded  the  jury,  that  if  they 
thought  proper  they  were  entitled  to  acquit  him  of  both  charges  ;  but, 
says  A  mot,  "  lest  the  fountain  of  justice  should  purify  the  stream  of 
political  vengeance,  it  was  observed  from  the  Bench  that  the  jury  could 
have  no  room  for  doubts,  and  that  Nonjuring  Episcopal  clergymen,  of  the 
prisoner  s  activity,  were  dangerous  to  the  present  happy  Establishment ! 
The  jury  found  the  prisoner  guilty,  yet,  in  respect  of  certain  alleviating 
circumstances,  they  recommended  him  to  mercy.  He  was  condemned  to 
perpetual  banishment,  never  to  return  under  pain  of  death  /" 

In  the  Scots  Magazine,  for  1755,  the  following  notice  respecting  this 
unfortunate  clergyman  occurs  : — "  In  the  end  of  August  Mr  Connachar 
set  out  for  England  in  obedience  to  his  sentence.  According  to  a  letter 
sent  us  by  one  who  was  present  at  his  departure,  he  told  his  friends  that 
amid  those  pangs  one  naturally  feels  on  being  for  ever  expelled  from 
his  native  country,  it  gave  him  great  consolation  that  he  was  not  con- 
scious of  having  done  any  thing  immoral  in  celebrating  the  marriages 
which  occasioned  so  severe  a  sentence — that  the  friends  were  satisfied 
and  consented  to  all  of  them,  and  there  was  no  private  prosecutor — that 
he  had  always  held  the  celebrating  of  a  marriage  clandestinely,  or  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  persons  interested,  as  a  crime  of  a  very  deep  dye, 
which  no  bribe  would  induce  him  to  commit — and  that  he  never  ima- 
gined it  was  illegal  for  Protestant  ministers,  even  those  not  of  the  Es- 
tablished Church  of  Scotland,  to  celebrate  marriages,  when  the  friends 
gave  their  consent,  and  banns  were  regularly  proclaimed,  though  it  was 
found  so  in  his  case,  upon  a  clause  of  an  old  act  in  1661,  which  he  either 
never  heard  of  or  did  not  suspect  to  be  in  force,  as  he  knew  that  mar- 
riages were  openly  celebrated  almost  every  day  by  the  ministers  of  all 
the  different  persuasions  in  this  country  without  challenge.  He  regretted, 
most  of  all,  the  destitute  condition  of  those  poor  people  to  whom  he  had 
ministered,  and  for  whom  he  had  spared  no  labour  or  fatigue,  who,  he 
said,  would  now  have  no  pastor  of  their  own  communion,  and,  therefore, 
would  be  in  great  hazard  of  being  perverted  to  Popery  by  the  artifices 
of  Romish  missionaries." 

In  October  1756,  the  Rev.  Walter  Stewart  of  Ochilbeg,  in  the  district 
of  Atholl,  was  apprehended  and  brought  to  Perth  by  the  sheriff- depute, 
but  was  liberated  on  bail.  His  trial  before  the  sheriff-depute  took 
place  on  the  28th  of  December,  and  he  was  charged  with  "  having  per- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUKCH.         .  309 

formed  divine  service  in  his  own  house  on  every  Sunday  from  Christ- 
mas 1755  to  October  last,  or  at  least  on  one  or  other  of  those  Sundays, 
when  more  than  four  persons  were  assembled  besides  his  own  family," 
and  craving  that  the  penalties  of  the  act  19  George  II.  should  be  in- 
flicted. Mr  Stewart  confessed  the  charge,  and  was  sentenced  to  six 
months'  imprisonment,  during  which  his  "  meeting-house"  was  to  be 
shut  up.  He  was  accordingly  committed  to  the  jail  of  Perth,  and  as  he 
was  in  the  seventieth  year  of  his  age,  his  friends  very  naturally  dread- 
ed the  consequences  of  such  a  punishment.  Four  of  Mr  Stewart's 
hearers  were  also  indicted  for  being  present  at  divine  service,  and  not 
giving  information.  They  confessed,  and  were  fined  L.5  sterling  each, 
which  they  paid  at  the  bar ;  the  one  half  adjudged  to  the  King,  and 
the  other  to  the  prosecutor.  One  of  those  gentlemen  was  a  notary- 
public,  and  he  was  declared  to  have  forfeited  his  office,  and  to  be  in- 
capable of  bearing  any  office,  civil  or  military,  for  twelve  months. 

Such  are  a  few  instances  of  the  persecutions  which  the  Scottish 
Episcopal  clergy  encountered  after  the  suppression  of  the  Enterprise  of 
1745,  to  which  many  more  might  be  added.  Several  of  the  clergy  took 
refuge  in  England  and  elsewhere,  and  it  does  not  appear  that  they  re- 
turned. A  persecution  such  as  this  in  a  Christian  state,  by  a  Govern- 
ment professing  the  same  religious  principles,  and  adhering  to  the 
Church  of  England,  of  which  the  Church  in  Scotland  is  a  branch,  has 
few  parallels  in  history.  It  is  in  vain  to  urge  that  these  severities  were 
inflicted  for  political  considerations  and  for  the  internal  peace  of  the 
country.  The  clause  of  1748  completely  refutes  that  argument,  inas- 
much as  it  precluded  the  Scottish  Episcopalians  from  political  repent- 
ance, and  directly  aimed  at  the  extirpation  of  the  Church. 

A  glance  at  the  internal  affairs  of  the  Church  will  form  an  appro- 
priate conclusion  to  this  part  of  the  narrative.  On  the  20th  of  January 
1757  died  Bishop  Keith,  the  Primus,  at  Bonnyhaugh,  where  he  had 
spent  some  of  the  last  years  of  his  life,  in  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  his 
age,  and  the  twenty- seventh  of  his  episcopate.  He  left  a  widow  and  child- 
ren in  straitened  circumstances,  for  although  nearly  related  to  the  an- 
cient  and  Noble  Family  of  Keith  Earls  Marischal,  ho  had  no  other  re- 
sources for  his  support  than  his  professional  duties,  and  that  distinguished 
Family  had  been  attainted  and  confiscated  for  their  connection  with  the 
Enterprise  of  1715.     **  of  the  public  life  of  this  eminent  prelate,"  says 


310  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Bishop  Russell,  "  I  cannot  discover  any  notices  more  recent  than  the 
year  1744.  The  pressure  of  the  penal  laws  inflicted  by  the  Govern- 
ment in  1746  and  1748  seems  to  have  silenced  even  the  voice  of  con- 
troversy. About  the  year  1752,  he  left  his  usual  residence  in  the  Ca- 
nongate,  and  fixed  his  abode  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Leith,  on  a  small 
property  called  Bonnyhaugh,  which  afterwards  descended  by  inherit- 
ance to  his  daughter  and  grand-daughter."  He  was  buried  in  the 
churchyard  of  the  Canongate,  Edinburgh,  a  few  feet  from  the  wall  on 
the  western  side,  and  the  spot  where  his  remains  were  deposited  is  in- 
dicated by  a  plain  tombstone  in  the  shape  of  a  square  pillar,  erected,  it 
is  said,  by  a  distant  relative  from  pious  respect  to  the  memory  of  a 
learned  and  good  man,  on  which  are  simply  inscribed  "  Bishop  Keith," 
and  the  date  of  his  decease. 

The  literary  labours  of  Bishop  Keith  are  well  known.  His  great 
work — «  The  History  of  the  Affairs  of  Church  and  State  of  Scotland, 
from  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation,  in  the  Reign  of  King  James  V., 
to  the  retreat  of  Queen  Mary  into  England,"  is  already  mentioned. 
Only  one  volume  of  this  stately  folio,  which  is  of  the  greatest  value 
for  the  collection  of  documents  it  contains,  was  published  ;  at  Bishop 
Keith's  death  he  left  a  few  sheets  of  his  second  volume,  which  it  is  sup- 
posed no  longer  exist.  "  Such  a  book,"  said  Bishop  Smith,  one  of  his 
correspondents  and  antagonists,  "  will  stand  the  test  of  ages,  and  will 
always  be  valued,  because  no  fact  is  related  but  upon  the  best  authority." 
This  work  appeared  in  1734,  and  in  1755  he  published  a  quarto  volume 
of  great  value,  research,  and  learning — the  well-known  "  Catalogue 
of  the  Bishops  of  the  several  Sees  within  the  Kingdom  of  Scotland, 
down  to  the  year  1688,"  of  which  an  edition  in  octavo  was  produced 
by  Bishop  Russell  in  1824,  with  a  Continuation,  a  Biographical  Sketch 
of  the  Author,  and  other  important  additions.  Bishop  Keith  is  also 
said  to  have  published  a  translation  of  Thomas  a  Keinpis.* 

Bishop  White,  diocesan  of  Dunblane,  succeeded  Bishop  Keith  as 
Primus,  and  on  the  1st  of  November  1759,  the  Rev.  Henry  Edgar, 
presbyter  at  Arbroath  in  Forfarshire,  was  consecrated  at  Cupar-Fife, 
as  coadjutor  to  Bishop  White,  by  that  prelate,  assisted  by  Bishops  Fal- 
coner, Rait,  and  Alexander.     Little  is  known  of  Bishop  Edgar,  and  the 

*   Scots  Magazine,  vol.  xix.  p.  54. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  311 

period  of  his  death  is  nowhere  recorded  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  he  suc- 
ceeded Bishop  White  in  1761  as  the  diocesan  of  Fife,  and  that  he  con- 
tinued to  perform  the  duties  of  it  as  long  as  he  lived,  several  years  after 
his  predecessor's  death. 

Towards  the  latter  end  of  the  reign  of  George  II.  the  severity  of 
the  prosecutions  against  the  Scottish  Episcopal  clergy  was  relaxed,  and 
few  incidents  of  importance  occur  in  the  history  of  the  Church.  The 
clergy  were  still  prohibited  from  officiating  in  public,  but  they  often 
boldly  evaded  the  law,  and  performed,  as  they  conveniently  could,  the 
rites  of  religion  to  their  people.  On  the  25th  of  October  1760  King 
George  II.  died,  in  the  77th  year  of  his  age,  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  grandson,  George  III.,  at  whose  accession,  by  the  well  known  senti- 
ments of  the  new  sovereign,  and  by  the  mildness  and  impartiality  of 
his  Government,  an  auspicious  era  dawned  upon  the  Church  after  the 
ordeals  through  which  the  clergy  had  passed — an  era  of  peace  and  se- 
curitv. 


312  HISTORY  OF  THE 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


ACCESSION  OF  GEORGE  III. RELIGIOUS  STATE  OF  SCOTLAND — INTERNAL  AF- 
FAIRS OF  THE  SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH — MILDNESS  OF  THE  NEW  REIGN 

— NEW  CONSECRATIONS  OF  SCOTTISH  BISHOPS DEATH  OF  THE  CHEVALIER 

ST  GEORGE. 


The  accession  of  George  III.  to  the  throne  of  the  British  Empire  was 
followed  by  the  choice  of  a  new  Ministry,  and  the  procedure  of  the  so- 
vereign indicated  that  he  wished  not  to  be  the  king  of  a  party,  but  of 
all  his  people — that  he  was  anxious  to  extinguish  all  national  prejudices, 
and  by  acts  of  generosity  and  kindness  to  allay  and  overcome  that  dis- 
affection to  his  Family  which  he  well  knew  existed  in  Scotland.  The 
King  had  several  advantages  in  his  favour.  He  was  the  first  monarch 
of  the  House  of  Hanover  who  was  an  Englishman  by  birth  and  by 
education,  and  in  his  youth  he  had  given  many  indications  of  that  mild, 
generous,  and  pious  disposition,  which  made  him  venerated  during  his 
long  and  momentous  reign.  His  two  predecessors  had  never  been  per- 
sonally popular  in  the  nation.  Their  German  predilections  often  irri- 
tated their  subjects,  and  tended  greatly  to  foster  that  disaffection  to  the 
House  of  Hanover  which  existed  in  various  parts  of  the  United  Kingdom. 
George  III.  was  divested  of  all  these  partialities  for  his  paternal  Elec- 
torate and  for  German  interests  ;  he  was  an  Englishman  in  thought, 
feeling,  and  in  sincerity  ;  and  he  ascended  the  throne,  to  commence  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  reigns  which  occur  in  British  history,  amid  the 
acclamations  of  the  people. 

It  is  true  the  Scottish  Bishops  and  clergy  sent  no  addresses  to  the 
throne,  but  George  III.  respected  their  conscientioui?  prejudices,  and  saw 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  313 

that  time  would  overcome  their  scruples,  and  a  new  generation  adopt  dif- 
ferent sentiments.  Although  the  penal  laws  continued  in  force,  the  King 
would  never  tolerate  the  execution  of  them  as  in  the  reign  of  his  grand- 
father. The  nobility  and  gentry  who  frequented  the  ministrations  of  the 
indigenous  Episcopal  clergy  submitted  to  be  deprived  of  several  poli- 
tical privileges,  but  no  officious  informations  were  countenanced  by  the 
Government,  and  some  of  the  chapels  shut  up  during  the  last  reign  were 
ordered  to  be  opened.  Still,  however,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  re- 
cent prosecutions  of  the  clergy  and  laity,  and  the  various  oaths,  par- 
ticularly that  of  Abjuration,  affecting  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church, 
which  continued  to  be  exacted  of  all  who  held  offices  in  the  State,  had 
a  very  serious  effect  on  the  Church,  by  reducing  the  number  of  congre- 
gations, and  lessening  the  zeal  of  the  laity. 

In  various  large  towns  and  villages  qualified  chapels  were  continually 
erecting,  and  the  incumbents  were  clergymen  of  English  or  Irish  ordi- 
nation, who  declined  the  diocesan  jurisdiction  of  the  Scottish  Bishops. 
The  political  privileges  of  the  laity  who  resorted  to  the  ministrations  of 
those  clergymen  were  in  no  way  affected,  and  consequently  they  were  re- 
spectably attended.  We  find  also  the  "  qualified  Episcopal  clergy"  in  the 
counties  of  Aberdeen,  Kincardine,  Forfar,  Banff,  and  Moray,  transmit- 
ting an  address  of  congratulation  to  George  III.  at  his  accession — "  sign- 
ed and  subscribed  in  our  name,  and  by  our  appointment,  at  Aberdeen, 
this  2d  of  December,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1760,  by  John  Gordon, 
James  Riddoch,  and  George  Farquhar,  ministers  of  the  chapels  in  Aber- 
deen." All  these  clergy  at  this  period  recognised  no  diocesan,  and 
were  rather  Independents  in  principle,  whatever  they  may  have  main- 
tained to  the  contrary,  than  Episcopalians,  in  the  proper  sense  and 
meaning  of  the  word. 

In  the  city  of  Glasgow  the  neat  edifice  near  the  Green  called  St  An- 
drew's Chapel  was  erected  in  1751,  and  the  officiating  clergyman,  being 
of  English  ordination,  was  qualified  according  to  law.  It  is  tradition- 
ally said  that  the  builder,  who  happened  to  be  a  Presbyterian,  was  either 
excommunicated  by  his  minister,  or  denied  what  in  their  language  they 
call  church  privileges,  forno  other  fault  than  undertaking  the  erection  of 
this  chapel!  But  the  state  of  the  Church  in  the  Scottish  metropolis  is 
worth?  of  a  passing  notice.     In  1716,  wrhen  Bishop  Millar  and  others 


n 


14  HISTORY  OF  THE 


were  prosecuted  for  not  praying  for  King  George  I.,  there  were  twenty- 
five  Episcopal  clergymen  in  Edinburgh,  and  before  the  Insurrection  of 
1745  it  is  said  there  were  twenty-two,  but  their  congregations  must  of 
necessity  have  been  small,  and  probably  two  would  officiate  in  some  of 
the  chapels.  In  1722  a  qualified  chapel  was  founded  by  John  Smith,  Esq., 
Lord  Chief  Baron  of  the  Exchequer  in  Scotland,  and  he  endowed  it  by 
vesting  a  sum  of  money  in  the  public  funds  for  the  purpose  of  yielding 
L.40  yearly  to  the  minister,  in  addition  to  the  stipend  arising  from  the 
seat-rents,  offertories,  and  other  sources.  This  chapel,  however,  which 
stood  at  the  foot  of  Blackfriars'  Wynd  in  the  Old  Town,*  was  not  suf- 
ficient to  accommodate  those  who  resorted  to  the  ministrations  of  the 
"  qualified"  clergy,  and  others  were  opened  in  1746,  in  which  the  offi- 
ciating clergymen  complied  with  the  statute.  In  the  adjoining  sea-port 
town  of  Leith  the  Episcopal  Chapel  was  shut  up  after  the  suppression  of 
the  Insurrection  by  order  of  the  sheriff  of  the  county  ;  but  the  Epis- 
copalians there,  rather  than  be  deprived  of  those  religious  services  to 
which  their  principles  were  in  unison,  engaged  the  Rev.  John  Paul,  a 
clergyman  in  English  orders,  in  1749. 

All  those  congregations  were  under  no  diocesan  superintendence,  and 
consequently  at  that  time  formed  no  part  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church.  There  were,  however,  various  chapels  in  Edinburgh  in  which 
the  indigenous  clergy  officiated,  who  recognized  the  diocesan  authority, 
though  they  still  held  Nonjuring  political  principles.  Notwithstanding 
all  the  disadvantages  to  which  the  Church  was  liable,  and  under  which 
she  laboured,  it  is  pleasing  to  record  that  she  "  was  still  cherished,  and 
her  clergy  respected  by  many,  who,  though  they  did  not  avow  themselves 
her  members,  wished  to  see  her  in  such  a  state  of  toleration  that  they 
might,  without  forfeiting  any  civil  privileges,  attend  her  chapels,  rather 
than  those  chapels  so  anomalously  supplied  with  ministers  from  England  ; 
and  by  none  was  this  wish  cherished  more  fervently  than  by  some  of  those 
ministers  themselves. "t      Among  these  is  noticed  Dr  Myles  Cooper, 

*  This  chapel  is  now  pulled  down,  and  its  endowment  amalgamated  with  the  large 
and  elegant  chapel  of  St  Paul,  York  Place.  The  last  incumbent  of  Blackfriars' 
Wynd  Chapel  was  the  Rev.  Robert  Adam,  author  of  the  "  Religious  World  Displayed," 
in  three  vols.  8vo,  published  in  1809. 

f  Scottish  Episcopal  Magazine,  vol.  ii.  p.  209. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  315 

formerly  Fellow  of  Lincoln  College,  Oxford,  who  had  been  President  or 
Principal  of  the  College  of  New  York,  from  which  he  was  exiled  by  re- 
volt of  the  American  Provinces,  and  who  died  senior  minister  of  the 
Episcopal  Chapel  in  the  Cowgate,  Edinburgh,  an  edifice  subsequently 
noticed,  the  foundation  stone  of  which  was  laid  by  General  Sir  Adol- 
phus  Oughton  in  April  1771  ;  and  now,  after  the  removal  of  the  con- 
gregation to  St  Paul's,  York  Place,  used  as  a  Presbyterian  Dissenting 
meeting-house.  Such,  it  is  farther  stated,  was  also  the  wish  of  Dr 
Patterson,  one  of  the  ministers  of  St  Paul's  Chapel,  Aberdeen,  and  of 
many  others. 

The  state  of  religion  in  Scotland  after  the  accession  of  George  III. 
deserves  a  passing  notice.     Arnot  mentions,  in  the  year  1779,  that  "  in 
Scotland  there  are  few  towns,  whether  of  importance  or  insignificant, 
whether  populous  or  otherwise,  where  there  are  not  congregations  of 
sectaries."     If  this  writer  had  witnessed  the  state  of  Scotland  at  the 
present  day  his  observations  could  not  have  been  more  accurate.     In 
another  passage  he  says — "  Besides  the  highflying  part  of  the  Establish- 
ed Clergy  [the  Presbyterian  ministers],  the  Seceders  are  to  a  man  a  set 
of  fanatics.     Although  they  embrace  the  same  Confession  of  Faith,  and 
observe  the  same  forms  of  worship  with  the  Established  Church,  they 
have  separated  from  it  on  account  of  presentations,  and  that  they  may 
enjoy  the  delightful  rhapsodies  of  their  own  preachers.     The  sectaries 
of  different  persuasions  of  late  [previous  to  1779]  have  greatly  increased." 
It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  majority  of  the  Scottish  people  are  Presby- 
terians of  some  description  or  other,  but  the  Establishment  cannot  claim 
much  more  than  one  third  of  the  population  as  belonging  or  attached  to 
its  communion,  while  the  great  mass  of  the  Presbyterian  Dissenters, 
who  have  emanated  from  its  own  bosom,  are  now  its  avowed  and  deter- 
mined enemies,   under  the  name  of  Voluntaries,  or  Voluntary  Church- 
men, as  they  designate  themselves.     So  prone  are  the  Presbyterians  of 
Scotland,  even  those  of  the  Establishment,  to  sectarianism,  that  there 
i-  hardly  any  novelty  started  in  connection  with  doctrine,  church  govern- 
in.  nt,  and  discipline,  which  will  not  find  adherents  ;  and  the  Wesleyan 
Methodist*  are  perhaps  the  only  sect  north  of  the  Tweed  who  never  pros- 
pered, and   have   been   always    in  a  languishing  condition.      There  are 
also  some  sects  peculiar  to  Scotland,  not  found  in  any  oth<  r  country,  at 
least  1  am  aot  aware  that  there  are  Glasites,  Bereans,  or  Original  8c 


316  HISTORY  OF  THE 

ceders,  any  where  else.*  There  are  sects  common  in  other  countries, 
and  in  very  considerable  number,  such  as  Independents,  Baptists,  Ana- 
baptists (of  various  kinds),  Methodists  of  different  parties,  New  Jeru- 
salemites,  Quakers,  Rowites,  Unitarians,  and  others  of  less  note,  whose 
principles  are  either  not  known,  or  whose  existence  excites  no  interest ; 
but  it  may  be  repeated,  that  there  is  not  a  country  in  Europe  which 
abounds  more  with  sectaries  and  dissenters  from  the  Establishment  of 
its  own  alleged  choice  than  Scotland. 

Most  of  the  minor  sectaries  enumerated  above  are  the  offshoots  of  more 
recent  times  than  the  accession  of  George  III.,  and  it  need  not  be  a 
matter  of  surprise  that  the  Presbyterian  Establishment  should  be  the 
parent  of  many  schismatical  children,  who  have  not  scrupled  to  lift  up 
their  hand  against  their  mother  and  denounce  her  as  full  of  corruptions. 
The  Presbyterian  Establishment  of  Scotland  contains  the  elements  of 
dissent  within  itself.    The  seeds  of  contention  and  separation  are  conti- 
nually scattered,  and  failing  as  they  do  on  ground  not  previously  preserved 
by  the  sound  and  solid  fences  of  ecclesiastical  antiquity,  they  take  root 
in  a  rank  soil,  and  flourish  luxuriantly.     Having  disregarded  and  set  at 
defiance  the  Apostolical  constitution  of  the  Church,  and  having  left  their 
people  in  their  celebration  of  divine  service  to  the  extemporizing  quali- 
fications of  their  ministers,  not  to  mention  the  errors,  prejudices,  and 
weaknesses  to  which,  like  other  men,  they  are  liable,  the  Presbyterians 
of  Scotland,  whether  Established  or  Dissenting,  can  offer  no  effectual 
resistance  to  the  inroads  of  fanaticism,  the  inculcation  of  error,   the 
rhapsodies  of  ignorance,  or  the  pressure  from  popular  clamour  and  ex- 
citement. 

The  Scottish  Roman  Catholics,  though  numerous  in  the  Highlands, 
were  dispirited  by  enactments  in  force  against  them,  and  were  seldom 


*  Of  these  the  Glasites  take  their  name  from  a  Mr  John  Glas,  established  mini- 
ster of  the  parish  of  Tealing,  near  Dundee,  in  the  last  century,  who  was  expelled  for 
preaching  against  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  and  for  maintaining  some  dog- 
mas concerning  what  he  called  the  pure  spirituality  of  Christ's  kingdom,  with  some 
other  tenets.  They  are  also  called  Sandemanians,  from  one  Robert  Sandeman,  who 
broached  some  very  wild  opinions  in  the  most  mystical  jargon.  The  founder  of  the 
Bereans  was  also  a  Presbyterian  minister  named  Barclay,  and  they  profess  to  follow 
the  example  of  the  ancient  Bereans,  as  they  interpret  the  inspired  historian,  Acts 
xvii.  11. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  317 

heard  of  in  the  country.  There  were  as  yet  few  or  no  Methodists,  the 
Brownist,  or  Independent  system,  had  not  been  introduced,  and  the 
other  sectaries  were  chiefly  Cameronians,  Glasites,  Bereans,  Quakers, 
and  probably  Baptists.  The  entire  population,  now  consisting  of 
nearly  3,000,000,  in  1755  amounted  to  1,265,380  ;  and  of  those,  after 
deducting  all  the  Episcopalians  and  the  Roman  Catholics — who,  in- 
asmuch as  they  never  belonged  to  the  Presbyterian  Establishment, 
cannot  be  said  to  be  de  facto  dissenters  from  it,  the  Seceders,  and  those 
calling  themselves  the  Relief,  daily  increasing,  soon  deprived  the  Esta- 
blishment of  a  vast  number  of  adherents.  It  has  been  seen  that  when 
Arnot  published  his  History  of  Edinburgh  in  1779,  he  rates  their  meet- 
ing-houses at  three  hundred,  while  the  Established  party  had  scarcely 
added  a  single  chapel- of-ease  to  their  parish  churches.  In  1842,  little 
more  than  a  century  after  the  commencement  of  the  schism,  the  Seced- 
ers, who  have  reconciled  their  Burgher  and  Antiburgher  animosities, 
alone  numbered  upwards  of  three  hundred  and  thirty-four  congregations 
in  Scotland,  including  their  preaching  stations  ;  the  Relief  possessed 
one  hundred  and  twelve  ;  the  Cameronian  Presbyterians,  calling  them- 
selves the  Reformed  Synod,  have  thirty-five  ;  those  designated  the  As- 
sociate Synod  of  Original  Seceders,  thirty-one  ;  the  Original  Burgher 
Associate  Synod,  nine  ;  and  the  Independents,  or  Brownists,  one  hun- 
dred and  five  congregations,  including  preaching  stations.  Add  to 
these  formidable  lists  of  deserters  the  various  parties  composing  the  mi- 
nor dissenting  societies,  and  it  will  be  found,  as  previously  mentioned, 
that  the  Presbyterian  Establishment  has  been  tolerably  prolific  in  pro- 
ducing dissent.  It  is  proper  to  add,  however,  that  a  most  vigorous 
effort  has  of  late  years  been  made  to  stop  the  progress  of  desertion,  and 
also  to  provide  for  the  religious  instruction  of  their  people,  by  what  is 
called  the  "  Church  Extension  Scheme  "  of  the  General  Assembly. 
Upwards  of  a  hundred  and  sixty  places  of  worship,  called  "  quoad  sacra 
parish  churches,"  have  been  erected  throughout  the  country,  and  num- 
bers of  one  of  tho  sections  of  the  Seceders  have  returned  to  their  allegi- 
ance, or  have  been  received  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Kirk,  though  they 
hold  principles  inconsistent  with  those  professed  by  those  who  arc  known 
M  the  "  Moderate  Party  "  in  the  General  Assembly. 

Prom  these  facts  it  is  nothing  extravagant  to  assert  that  the  Presby- 
terian Establishment  contains  the  elements  of  sectarianism.  It  maybe 
urged  that  England  abounds  with  Dissenters,  and  this  is  readily  admit- 


318  HISTORY  OF  THE 

ted  ;  but  it  must  be  recollected  that  of  the  sixteen  millions  of  population 
in  England  and  Wales,  the  Church  of  England  contains  from  ten  to 
eleven  millions.  It  is  the  Church  of  the  vast  majority  of  the  nation,  which 
is  not  disputed  even  by  its  opponents  ;  and,  moreover,  Church  Exten- 
sion, in  its  proper  and  legitimate  sense,  has  made  a  progress  throughout 
many  of  the  dioceses  altogether  without  a  parallel.  But  one  of  the  great 
causes  of  unity  of  polity  in  the  Church  of  England,  and  in  every  branch 
of  the  Episcopal  Church  throughout  the  world,  is  its  constitution.  In 
the  Episcopal  Church  a  man  who  rejects  the  authority  of  the  Diocesan 
becomes  a  schismatic,  and  must  of  necessity  leave  the  communion  of  the 
Church  if  he  ever  belonged  to  it ;  while  the  ordination  of  the  Dissenters, 
in  whatever  way  they  conduct  it,  cannot  be  and  is  not  recognised,  and 
this  principle  is  well  understood  by  the  members  of  the  Church.  But  in 
Scotland  the  ordination  of  the  Presbyterian  Dissenters  is  as  valid  as  that 
of  the  Presbyterian  Established  ministers.  The  latter  cannot  charge  the 
former  with  irregularity,  want  of  authority,  or  undue  assumption  of  the 
ministerial  office,  because  it  would  be  instantly  retorted  against  them- 
selves. Such  are  a  few  of  the  results  of  the  rejection  of  that  govern- 
ment and  constitution  of  the  Church  which  was  observed  from  the  Apos- 
tolical times,  and  is  still  observed  by  every  branch  of  the  Church  Ca- 
tholic which  adheres  to  the  "  old  paths,"  whether  established  by  law 
as  in  England,  existing  as  in  Scotland,  or  maintained  by  the  affections 
of  its  people,  as  in  the  United  States  of  America. 

The  discouragement  given  to  officious  information  against  the  Scot- 
tish Episcopal  clergy  by  the  Government  of  George  III.  was  productive 
of  most  salutary  consequences.  Places  for  public  worship  were  now 
erected  in  towns,  villages,  and  country  districts  ;  candidates  for  holy  or- 
ders appeared,  ordinations  were  held,  and  vacant  congregations  willingly 
received  those  gentlemen  as  their  pastors.  In  the  month  of  June  1764, 
a  curious  and  at  one  time  a  hazardous  event  occurred  in  Edinburgh, 
which  is  not  generally  known.  This  was  the  consecration  of  a  newly- 
formed  Presbyterian  burying-ground  by  Bishop  Falconer.  On  the 
south  side  of  the  city,  near  the  Meadows  or  Hope  Park,  is  a  plain 
unpretending  edifice  erected  as  a  chapel-of-ease  to  the  large  parish 
of  St  Cuthbert's,  or  the  West  Kirk,  having  on  each  side  of  it  an  en- 
closed cemetery,  first  opened  for  funerals  in  1763.  Arnot,  in  his  His- 
tory of  Edinburgh,  thus  alludes  to  this  affair,  which  it  appears  was  al- 
leged at  the  time  to  have  been  sanctioned  by  the  Kirk-Session  : — "  The 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  319 

neighbourhood  of  this  chapel  has,  since  its  erection,  been  used  as  a  ce- 
metery. But  so  strong  is  the  prejudice  in  favour  of  holy  ground,  that 
previous  to  its  being  used  as  a  place  of  interment,  a  Bishop  of  the  Scot- 
tish Episcopal  Communion  was  prevailed  upon  with  all  due  solemnity 
to  consecrate  the  ground — this  office  of  consecration,  it  seems,  either 
being  inconsistent  with  the  principles  of  a  Presbyterian  clergyman,  or 
that  he  is  not  deemed  sufficiently  sanctified  for  the  function."  Without 
inquiring  into  the  accuracy  of  these  statements  of  the  historian  of  the 
Scottish  metropolis,  and  merely  noticing  that  he  errs  in  asserting  that  the 
consecration  took  place  before  there  was  any  interment  in  the  cemetery, 
an  account  of  the  matter  by  an  individual  officially  connected  with 
the  parish  may  not  be  uninteresting.  The  consecration  was  performed 
privately  on  the  25th  of  June  in  the  evening,  at  the  request  of  a  certain 
person,  according  to  this  .local  writer,  and  "  whose  application  to  the 
Bishop  was  at  least  connived  at  by  five  elders  and  one  deacon,  who  wit- 
nessed the  ceremony  performed."  He  thus  gives  an  account  of  the  pro- 
ceedings in  his  own  way  : — "  The  rumour  of  this  secret  transaction 
having  reached  the  Session,  a  motion  was  made  on  the  19th  of  July  fol- 
lowing, and  unanimously  acquiesced  in,  to  make  inquiry  into  an  affair 
which  has  lately  happened  at  the  Chapel-of-Ease,  it  being  publicly  re- 
ported that  the  ground  surrounding  the  said  chapel  has  been  consecrated 
by  a  Nonjuring  Bishop,  and  at  which  consecration  some  members  of  this 
Session  are  said  to  have  been  present,  which  consecration  has  given  great 
offence,  as  if  it  had  been  countenanced  by  the  Session.  Finding,  how- 
ever, that  of  the  six  members  who  witnessed  the  consecration  four  were  not 
present,  the  Session  delayed  farther  investigation  till  the  2d  of  August, 
In  the  meantime  the  Presbytery  interfered,  and  enjoined  the  Session 
to  proceed  in  their  inquiry,  and  without  pronouncing  any  judgment  to 
give  a  full  report  to  the  Presbytery.  During  the  investigation  made  by 
tlio  Session,  the  following  detailed  account  of  the  ceremony  was  pro- 
duced. Having  retired  to  the  Chapel  on  account  of  the  rain,  the  Bishop 
proceeded  thus  :— '  Blessed  be  the  Holy  and  Undivided  Trinity.  Amen. 
Then  the  Lord'l  prayer.  Then  was  read  Genesis  xxiii.,  Psalm  xxxi., 
1  Corinthians  xv.,  from  the  12th  verse  to  the  end,  and  Psalm  xxxix.  He 
then  read  a  prayer  to  the  following  effect— That  Almighty  God,  who 
lias  taught  as  n.  his  Holy  Word  that  there  is  a  difference  between  the 
spirit  of  a  beast  that  goeth  downward  to  the  earth,  and  the  spirit  of  a 


320  HISTORY  OF  THE 

man  that  goeth  upward,  which  ascendeth  to  God,  and  likewise  hath 
taught  us  that  the  bodies  of  the  saints  are  committed  to  the  ground  in 
sure  and  certain  hope  of  the  resurrection  to  eternal  life — would  accept 
this  charitable  work  of  ours  in  separating  that  portion  of  ground, 
that  the  bodies  of  our  faithful  brothers  and  sisters  which  should  be 
buried  here  might  rest  in  peace  till  the  last  trump  shall  awaken  them, 
for  they  shall  awake  and  rise  up  that  sleep  in  the  dust ;  and  that  we 
may  all  never  forget  the  day  of  putting  off  the  tabernacle  of  this  flesh, 
but  that  in  the  midst  of  life,  thinking  upon  death,  we  may  rise  from  the 
death  of  sin  unto  a  life  of  righteousness.  After  which  he  [Bishop  Fal- 
coner] declared  the  ground  to  be  separated  from  all  common  and  pro- 
fane uses,  to  be  ever  afterwards  a  place  of  burial  for  the  interment  of 
the  bodies  of  the  faithful,  saying — I,  William  Falconer,  a  servant  of  the 
Lord,  though  unworthy,  do  set  apart  this  piece  of  ground  within  these 
walls,  as  a  cemetery  in  all  time  coming,  for  burying  the  dead.  Then 
followed  another  prayer  of  a  similar  import  with  the  above,  the  reading 
of  the  16th  Psalm,  and  the  apostolic  benediction.'  The  six  members 
of  Session,  who  were  present  at  the  ceremony,  having  solemnly  declared 
that  they  had  no  hand  in  the  affair,  farther  than  being  present  at  the 
request  of  the  individual  alluded  to,  for  which  they  expressed  their  sorrow, 
and  that  the  majority  of  them  even  knew  not  at  first  for  what  purpose  they 
were  convened,  the  Session  remitted  the  whole  investigation  to  the 
Presbytery.  On  the  2Gth  of  December  the  Presbytery  returned  the 
following  sentence  to  the  Session  : — '  Considering  that  none  of  the  elders 
or  the  deacon  had  invited  Mr  Falconer — that  they  had  been  led  to  at- 
tend the  ceremony  of  the  consecration  without  reflecting  on  the  nature 
and  consequences  of  it — and  that  they  had  testified  their  sorrow  for 
being  concerned  in  the  matter,  the  Presbytery  go  no  farther  in  censure 
than  to  express  their  dissatisfaction  at  their  behaviour,  and  admonish 
them  to  be  more  circumspect  in  their  conduct  for  the  future  ;  and  the 
Presbytery  order  that  this  their  sentence  be  intimated  to  them  by  the 
Moderator  of  the  West  Kirk  in  Session.'  "* 

The  Office  for  the  Administration  of  the  Holy  Communion  was  revised 
in  1765,  to  bring  it  "  to  as  exact  a  conformity  with  the  ancient  standards 

*  History  of  the  Church  and  Parish  of  St  Cuthbert,  or  West  Kirk  of  Edinburgh, 
1829,  p.  139-142. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUPvCH.  321 

of  eucharistic  service  as  it  could  bear."*  The  preservation  of  the  Epis- 
copal order  was  carefully  maintained.  In  1762,  the  Rev.  Robert  For- 
bes, presbyter  at  Leith,  had  been  consecrated  at  Forfar  by  Bishop  Fal- 
conar,  Primus,  in  room  of  Bishop  White,  deceased  in  1761,  assisted  by 
Bishop  Alexander  and  Bishop  Gerard.  Bishop  Forbes  was  elected  to  the 
diocesan  superintendence  of  Caithness  and  Orkney,  which  had  been  long 
vacant ;  and  on  the  21st  of  September  1768,  the  Rev.  Robert  Kilgour, 
presbyter  at  Peterhead,  was  consecrated  at  Cupar-Fife,  by  Bishops 
Falconar,  Rait,  and  Alexander.  This  excellent  prelate  became  the 
successor  of  Bishop  Gerard  in  the  diocese  of  Aberdeen.  In  1774,  the 
Rev.  Charles  Rose,  presbyter  at  Doune,  was  consecrated  at  Forfar  to 
be  diocesan  of  Ross  and  Caithness,  by  Bishops  Falconar,  Rait,  and  For- 
bes ;  and  at  the  death  of  Bishop  Alexander,  in  1776,  he  was  appointed 
to  the  superintendence  of  the  ancient  diocese  of  Dunblane. 

In  1766,  the  Rev.  Arthur  Petrie,  presbyter  at  Meiklefolla,  in  Aber- 
deenshire, was  elected  coadjutor  to  Bishop  Falconar  by  the  presbyters  in 
Moray.  He  was  consecrated  at  Dundee  on  the  27th  of  June  by  Bishops 
Falconar,  Rait,  Kilgour,  and  Rose,  and  next  year,  at  the  death  of  Bi- 
shop Forbes,  he  was  appointed  to  the  diocesan  superintendence  of  Ross 
and  Caithness ;  but  he  soon  afterwards  had  the  sole  charge  of  the  diocese 
of  Moray  assigned  to  him  by  the  resignation  of  Bishop  Falconar,  who  was 
elected  to  Edinburgh,  where  he  had  long  resided,  and  where  he  died  in 
1784.  Bishop  Falconar 's  death  is  thus  announced  in  the  publications  of 
the  time  : — "  At  Edinburgh,  in  the  seventy- seventh  year  of  his  age, 
the  Right  Rev.  Mr  William  Falconar.  He  held  the  highest  office  in 
the  Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland  for  forty- three  years."  t 

Bishop  Rait  died  on  the  13th  of  January  1777.  His  death  is  thus 
recorded  : — "  At  Dundee,  Dr  James  Rait,  one  of  the  Bishops  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland.  He  was  born  February  9,  1689,  N.  S.  ; 
was  ordained  a  deacon  in  October  1712,  and  a  presbyter  in  June  1713, 
and  was  advanced  to  the  highest  order  in  September  1742.  From  a 
charge  in  the  country  he  was  called  to  Dundee  in  March  1727."+  The 
presbyters  in  the  diocese  of  Brechin  elected  the  Rev.  George  Innes, 
presbyter  in   Aberdeen,  who  was  consecrated  at  Alloa  on  the   13th  of 


*  Skinnor's  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii.  p.  I'i8'2. 
t  Scots  Magasine,  vol.  xlvi.  p.  3j.  |  Ibid.  vol.  xxxix.  p.  54. 

X 


322  HISTORY  OF  THE 

August  1778,  by  Bishops    Falconar,  Rose,  and  Petrie,  but  he  died  in 
1781,  and  the  diocese  continued  vacant  some  years. 

On  the  25th  of  September  1782,  the  Rev.  John  Skinner,  presbyter  in 
Aberdeen,  was  consecrated  in  the  Episcopal  chapel  of  Luthermuir,  in  the 
diocese  of  Brechin,  by  Bishop  Kilgour,  who  had  succeeded  Bishop  Fal- 
conar as  Primus,  assisted  by  Bishops  Rose  and  Petrie.  Bishop  Skinner 
was  appointed  coadjutor  to  Bishop  Kilgour.  This  truly  distinguished  and 
learned  Bishop,  whose  virtues,  piety,  and  zeal,  will  long  be  remembered 
in  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  was  the  second  son  of  the  Rev.  John 
Skinner  of  Longside,  whose  sufferings  in  the  cause  of  the  Church  ar 
already  noticed.  His  mother  was  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Mr 
Hunter,  an  Episcopal  clergyman  in  the  Shetland  Islands,  since  whose 
death  no  successor  has  been  appointed.  Bishop  Skinner  was  admitted 
into  deacon's  orders  by  Bishop  Gerard  of  Aberdeen,  when  only  in  the 
twentieth  year  of  his  age,  in  1763,  the  want  of  clergymen  rendering 
such  an  early  ordination  necessary.  He  was  first  settled  at  Ellon  in  Aber- 
deenshire, but  in  1775  he  was  removed  to  Aberdeen,  where  he  accepted  a 
charge  with  the  greatest  reluctance,  and  almost  solely  on  family  con- 
siderations. "  At  the  period,"  we  are  told,  "  when  he  entered  on  his 
new  charge,  it  did  not  consist  of  three  hundred  people,  yet,  such  was 
Mr  Skinner's  zeal  in  his  holy  calling,  that  he  had  not  served  the  cure 
above  twelve  months  when  additional  accommodation  was  required. 
But  in  1776,  even  the  idea  of  erecting  an  ostensible  church-like  place 
of  worship  dared  not  be  cherished  by  Scottish  Episcopalians.  Hence 
was  Mr  Skinner  obliged  to  look  out  for  some  retired  situation,  down  a 
close  or  little  alley,  and  there,  at  his  own  individual  expense,  to  erect  a 
large  dwelling-house,  the  two  upper  floors  of  which,  being  fitted  up  as  a 
chapel,  were  devoted  to  the  accommodation  of  his  daily  increasing  flock, 
and  the  two  under  floors  to  the  residence  of  his  family."* 

In  this  structure  Mr  Skinner  continued  nineteen  years  officiating  to 
his  numerous  and  respectable  congregation,  till  a  proper  ecclesiastical 
edifice  was  erected.  But  as  this  most  active  Bishop  is  more  prominently 
introduced  to  the  notice  of  the  reader  in  the  sequel,  it  may  be  here 
simply  stated,  in  the  language  of  his  son,  that,  after  his  consecration  as 
coadjutor  to  Bishop  Kilgour,  "  such  in  the  space  of  four  years  was  the 

•  Memoir  of  Bishop  Skinner,  prefixed  to  Annals  of  Scottish  Episcopacy,  p.  xvi.  xvii. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  323 

confidence  with  which  Bishop  Skinner,  then  only  in  his  forty-second 
year,  inspired  the  venerable  members  of  the  Episcopal  College  in  Scot- 
land, that  Bishop  Kilgour,  having  been  nominated  Primus  Scotice  Epis- 
copus  on  the  death  of  Bishop  Falconar  of  Edinburgh  in  1784,  did,  with 
the  approbation  and  consent  of  the  College,  divest  himself  of  all  epis- 
copal relation  to  the  diocese  of  Aberdeen,  retaining  the  office  of  Primus 
only,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  coadjutor,  in  terms  of  the  ninth 
Synodical  Canon  of  1743.  From  that  period  the  Bishop  of  Aberdeen 
is  known  to  have  devoted  every  thought  of  his  heart,  and  every  faculty 
of  his  mind,  towards  rendering  the  sadly  depressed  Church  in  which 
he  served  alike  respectable,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  in  the  eyes  of 
men,  as  he  trusted,  by  reason  of  her  resemblance  in  doctrine  and  disci- 
pline to  the  Primitive  Church  of  Christ,  she  would  be  found  acceptable 
in  the  sight  of  God,  and  conformable  to  His  holy  will." 

With  the  political  affairs  of  those  times  the  present  work  has  no  con- 
nection, and  it  would  be  extraneous  to  digress.    The  Chevalier  St  George, 
father  of  Prince  Charles  Edward,  died  at  Rome  in  the  beginning  of 
1776,  in  the  seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age,  after  a  residence  of  nearly 
fifty  years  in  the  metropolis  of  the  Papal  dominions.     The  Jacobites, 
who  invariably  designated  him  "  King,"  heard  the  intelligence  with  in- 
difference, for  he  had  never  been  personally  popular,  and  their  attach- 
ment was  to  his  alleged  hereditary  claims  rather  than  to  himself  as 
an  individual.     This  unfortunate  prince,  the  representative  of  a  long 
dynasty  of  sovereigns,  had  been  confined  to  his  apartment  during  the 
last  six  years  of  his  life  by  illness  ;  but  long  before  that  period  he  had  ' 
sunk  into  obscurity,  and  held  little  intercourse  with  his  friends  in  Great 
Britain  after  the  suppression  of  the  Enterprise  of  1745.     The  hope  of 
a  Restoration  was  now  entertained  only  by  a  few  enthusiastic  sentiment- 
alists, who  never  could  persuade  themselves  that  the  ancient  dynasty 
would  be  annihilated.     It  does  not  appear  that  the  old  Scottish  Jacob- 
ites ever  spoke  of  Prince  Charles  as  King  ;  after  the  death  of  his  father, 
and  as  his  only  brother  had  become  a  dignitary  of  the  Church  of  Rome 
by  the  title  of  Cardinal  York,  he  never  was  an  object  of  interest  with 
those  who  still  cherished  a  lurking  affection  for  the  House  of  Stuart. 
The  Chevalier  St  George  was  interred  with  all  the  respect  due  to  his 
birth  at  the  expense  of  the  Pope  ;  but  this  terminated  the  regard  for  1 
Family,  and  the  Pontifical  Court  would  not  acknowledge  Prince  CharL 


324  HISTORY  OF  THE 

as  successor  to  his  father's  rank.     The  Prior  of  the  Irish  Dominicans, 
and  the  Rectors  of  the  English,  Irish,  and  Scottish  Colleges  of  Jesuits 
established  at  Rome,  were  even  banished  from  that  city  for  paying  the 
honour  of  royalty  to  the  Prince.     Mr  Sharpe  observes,  in  his  "  Letters 
from  Italy,"  written  in  1765  and  1766—"  The  Pope  and  his  Council 
have  come  to  a  resolution,  upon  the  death  of  the  Pretender,  to  have  no 
more  concern  in  this  business,   and  not  only  do  not  acknowledge  the 
title  of  the  present  Pretender,  but  have  forbidden  all  the  princes  and 
cardinals  to  visit  him.     I  have  had  some  conversation  with  a  very  sen- 
sible ecclesiastic  here  [Rome],  who  knows  every  thing  which  passes 
both  in  the  Pope's  and  the  Pretender's  palaces.    I  asked  what  name  the 
Pretender  goes  by  at  present ;  to  which  he  could  hardly  give  an  answer, 
as  he  says  they  so  strictly  observe  the  prohibition  not  to  style  him 
King,  that  he  is  never  mentioned,  or,  if  by  chance  they  are  obliged  to 
speak  of  him,  it  is  under  the  absurd  appellation  of  Prince  of  Wales." 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  325 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


CONSECRATION    OF  DR   SEABURY  AS    BISHOP  OF  CONNECTICUT    BY  THE    SCOT- 
TISH   BISHOPS ALLEGED    APPLICATION    OF    THE    REV.  JOHN    WESLEY   FOR 

EPISCOPAL  CONSECRATION — INTERNAL    AFFAIRS    OF  THE    CHURCH DEATH 

OF  PRINCE    CHARLES    EDWARD    STUART REPEAL    OF  THE    PENAL  LAWS  OF 

1746  AND  1748. 


It  is  already  stated  that  after  the  accession  of  George  III.  the  persecu- 
tions of  the  Episcopal  clergy  entirely  ceased.  Though  the  Church 
then  enjoyed  considerable  internal  prosperity,  nothing  of  general  in- 
terest occurred  in  its  history  from  that  period  to  1784,  and  there  were 
many  probably  in  England  who  had  almost  forgotten  that  such  a  Com- 
munion existed.  But  the  Providence  of  Him  who  had  conducted  and 
preserved  the  Church  through  so  many  vicissitudes,  hardships,  and  de- 
pressions— per  varios  casus,  per  tot  discrimina  rerum — was  now  exercis- 
ed in  a  remarkable  manner.  In  1784,  an  event  occurred,  or,  to  quote 
the  language  of  a  venerable  writer,  in  that  year,  "  when  our  Church  had 
indeed  a  less  number  of  Bishops  than  usual,  but  still  such  as  were  suf- 
ficient for  the  time  to  answer  the  great  end  of  the  office,  an  unexpected 
affair  of  a  quite  foreign  nature  was  providentially  thrown  in  her  way, 
which  contributed  to  raise  her  in  some  measure  out  of  that  obscurity 
into  which  a  run  of  distress  had  plunged  her,  and  procured  her  a  par- 
ticular degree  of  respect  and  notice  from  a  quarter  where  she  had  not 
been  favoured  with  much  of  either  for  some  time  before."* 

\>  early  as  1713  the  consecration  of  a  Bishop  for  the  North  American 

*  Skinner's  Ecclosiastical  History  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii.  |>.  <>8;>,  684. 


326  HISTORY  OF  THE 

colonies  was  in  contemplation,  but  it  was  never  carried  into  effect.  Seve- 
ral unsuccessful  attempts  were  made  to  introduce  the  episcopate,  and  Arch- 
bishop Seeker  greatly  exerted  himself  in  this  important  matter,  merely 
requesting  from  Government  the  royal  permission,  without  any  temporal 
rank  or  power.  A  short  time  before  the  American  Revolution,  when 
the  Stamp  Act  was  the  subject  of  political  controversy,  the  measure  was 
again  publicly  brought  forward  by  the  Rev.  East  Apthorpe,  and  by  the 
Rev.  Dr  Chandler  of  Elizabeth-Town  ;  but  it  was  unpopular  among  the 
Americans  themselves,  who  imagined  that  it  would  strengthen  the  civil 
government,  and  it  met  with  the  violent  opposition  of  English  Dissent- 
ers of  all  sects,  who  formed  a  committee  in  London  to  prevent  its  con- 
summation. It  was  then  doubted  if  the  A  merican  Republicans  would 
even  tolerate  the  residence  of  a  Bishop  exercising  episcopal  authority 
within  their  territories.  After  the  acknowledgment  of  the  independ- 
ence of  the  United  States,  as  it  was  also  doubtful  if  the  British  Go- 
vernment would  permit  American  clergymen  to  be  consecrated  in  Eng- 
land, the  Danish  minister,  with  the  consent  of  his  Sovereign,  offered  to 
Mr  Adams,  the  American  Envoy  at  the  British  Court,  to  procure  their 
consecration  in  Denmark. 

At  the  termination  of  the  American  War  the  independence  of  the 
United  States  was  acknowledged  by  Great  Britain,  and  all  political  con- 
nection with  the  mother  country  was  necessarily  dissolved.  The  new  de- 
mocratic government  set  up  in  the  United  States,  true  to  the  principles 
of  the  peculiar  constitution  they  adopted,  declared  against  the  recognition 
of  any  religious  communion  in  particular  ;  and  the  Episcopal  clergy,  left 
to  themselves,  and  deprived  of  diocesan  authority,  found  that  they  were 
no  longer  a  regularly  constituted  ecclesiastical  society,  for  they  well  knew 
that  no  church  could  be  properly  so  called  without  a  Bishop  or  several 
Bishops.  Some  of  the  clergy  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  anxious  to 
remedy  this  fundamental  deficiency,  resolved  to  apply  to  the  Church  of 
England,  and  they  elected  the  Rev.  Samuel  Seabury,  D.D.  Oxon.,  who 
had  been  one  of  the  Missionaries  of  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian 
Knowledge,  as  a  clergyman  worthy  of  being  invested  with  the  episcopal 
office.  Dr  Seabury  arrived  in  England  in  1783,  bringing  with  him  the 
most  satisfactory  testimonials  to  Archbishop  Markham  of  York,  the  Pri- 
macy being  then  vacant,  with  a  supplication  that  his  Grace  "  would  es- 
pouse the  cause  of  their  sinking  Church,  and  afford  her  that  relief  on 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  327 

which  her  very  existence  depended,  by  consecrating  Dr  Seabury  to  be 
their  Bishop."  The  objections  urged  by  the  Archbishop  were  both 
civil  and  ecclesiastical.  It  was  necessary  to  obtain  an  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment, because  at  the  consecration  the  oaths  of  allegiance  and  supremacy 
could  not  be  omitted,  and  these  could  not  be  exacted  from  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States.  The  consent  of  the  American  Government  also  had  not 
been  obtained.  As  Dr  Seabury  had  been  sent  by  only  a  few  individuals, 
the  Archbishop  was  doubtful  how  far  this  could  be  considered  a  proper 
ecclesiastical  election.  Other  difficulties  occurred,  which  were  all  care- 
fully considered  by  Archbishop  Moore,  after  his  translation  to  the  Pri- 
macy from  Bangor  in  1783.  An  Act  of  Parliament  could  not  be  im- 
mediately obtained,  and  as  it  was  most  inconvenient  for  Dr  Seabury  to 
remain  to  the  following  Session  of  Parliament,  he  was  advised  to  apply 
for  consecration  to  the  Scottish  Bishops. 

But  the  penal  enactments  of  1746  and  1748  were  still  in  force,  and  the 
circumstances  were  so  peculiar,  that  the  Scottish  Bishops  considered  that 
it  would  be  imprudent,  if  not  dangerous,  to  consecrate  a  clergyman  who 
had  first  applied  to  the  Archbishop  of  York,  without  ascertaining  the  sen- 
timents of  the  English  Primate.  Dr  Berkeley,  one  of  the  Prebendaries 
of  Canterbury,  son  of  the  celebrated  Bishop  of  Cloyne,  was  then  resid- 
ing at  St  Andrews  for  the  education  of  his  only  son,  and  he  undertook 
to  correspond  with  Archbishop  Moore  on  the  subject.  The  result  was 
so  satisfactory,  that  Dr  Seabury  came  to  Scotland  in  November  1784, 
and  was  consecrated  at  Aberdeen  by  Bishop  Kilgour,  Primus,  Bishop 
Petrie,  and  Bishop  Skinner.  When  Bishop  Seabury  returned  to 
America,  the  utmost  gratitude  was  expressed  to  the  Scottish  Bishops. 
They  declared  that  wherever  the  American  Church  would  be  mention- 
ed, this  that  the  Scottish  Bishops  had  done  for  her  would  always  be  re- 
membered. "  As  under  God,"  says  Bishop  Seabury,  in  his  Charge  at 
his  primary  visitation,  "the  Bishops  of  the  old  Episcopal  Church  of 
Scotland,  which  at  the  Revolution  fell  a  sacrifice  to  the  jealous  appre- 
hensions of  William  III.,  were  solely  the  instruments  of  accomplishing 
this  happy  work,  to  them  our  gratitude  is  due.  And  I  hope  the  Bense  <>i 
the  benefit  we  have  through  their  hands  received  will  ever  remain  fresh 
in  die  minds  of  all  members  of  our  communion  to  the  latest  posterity. 
Under  the  greatest  persecutions  God  has  preserved  them,  and,  I  trust, 
will  preserve  them,  that   there  maj    yet  he  some  to  whom  destitute 


328  HISTORY  OF  THE 

churches  may  apply  in  their  wants  ;  some  faithful  shepherds  in  Christ's 
flock,  who  are  willing  to  give  freely  what  they  have  freely  received  from 
their  Lord  and  Master."  It  may  be  here  added,  that  in  1786  the 
Episcopal  clergy  of  the  Southern  States,  being  informed  that  the  ob- 
stacles which  prevented  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Seabury  in  England 
had  been  removed,  applied  to  the  English  Bishops  for  the  consecration 
of  two  of  their  brethren,  that  thus  the  canonical  number  necessary  for 
perpetuating  the  succession  in  the  United  States  might  be  complete. 
The  Rev.  Dr  White,  Bishop-elect  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  Rev.  Dr 
Prevost,  Bishop-elect  of  New  York,  were  consecrated  in  the  chapel  of 
Lambeth  Palace,  on  the  4th  of  February  1787,  by  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  assisted  by  the  Archbishop  of  York,  and  the  Bishops  of 
Bath  and  Wells  and  of  Peterborough.  From  Bishops  Seabury,  White, 
and  Prevost,  the  succession  of  the  American  Episcopal  Church  is  de- 
rived. Dr  James  Maddison  was  afterwards  consecrated  in  England, 
and  Dr  Seabury  was  duly  admitted  a  member  of  the  House  of  Bishops 
in  the  American  Church,  or,  as  it  is  expressed  in  the  Episcopal  Conven- 
tion, "  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  America  is  the  Church  for- 
merly known  by  the  name  of  the  Church  of  England  in  America." 

The  consecration  of  Bishop  Seabury  reminded  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land that  a  depressed  branch  of  the  Church  Catholic  existed  in  Scot- 
land, having  the  same  orders,  and  using  the  same  Liturgy.  "  It  first," 
says  Bishop  Skinner,  "  introduced  me  to  the  knowledge  and  acquaint- 
ance of  some  eminent  divines  of  the  Church  of  England.  They  were 
the  men  who  thenceforth  interested  themselves  so  much  in  the  repeal  of 
the  penal  statutes,  and  in  the  grievously  depressed  situation  of  our 
Church,  that  for  my  own  part  I  had  only  to  inform  them,  and  some  in- 
valuable and  equally  zealous  lay  friends,  what  my  venerable  colleagues 
and  I  wished  to  be  done,  and  thev  did  it."* 

But  Bishop  Seabury 's  consecration  was  not  allowed  to  pass  unnoticed 
by  the  enemy,  and  an  anonymous  writer  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine 
for  1785,  under  the  signature  of  LL,  assailed  not  only  the  consecration, 
but  the  Church,  whose  governors  had  presided  on  the  solemn  occasion, 
in  the  most  wanton,  ignorant,  and  contemptible  manner.  Mr  Urban 
tells  us  that  he  submitted  the  communication  to  a  friend,  who  desired 

*  Memoir  of  Bishop  Skinner,  p.  32. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUBCH.  329 

to  add  the  notes.  The  passages  of  LL.'s  letter  to  which  these  explana- 
tory notes  are  prefixed  evince  the  extent  of  the  writer's  information  on 
the  subject.  He  asks — "  How  came  the  anonymous  Scottish  Bishop 
who  publishes  the  consecration  sermon  [Bishop  Skinner]  by  his  own 
title  ?"  The  answer  properly  is — "  By  the  consecration  of  other  Bishops." 
It  is  next  asked — "  Or  if  he  had  one,  how  could  he  confer  it  on  another 
without  the  authority  of  his  sovereign?"  The  answer  is — "  Bishops,  as 
such,  may  consecrate  Bishops  and  convey  spiritual  jurisdiction,  though 
they  can  give  no  temporal  powers,  or  exempt  from  temporal  penalties." 
It  is  then  doubted  with  respect  to  Bishop  Seabury,  that  "  the  Colonies, 
who  lately  shook  off  the  dominion  of  the  mother  country,  will  not  be  dis- 
posed to  yield  much  reverence  to  the  suffragan  of  those  mighty  prelates, 
whom  a  law  enacted  in  1748  prohibited  from  ordaining  even  a  single 
deacon."  It  is  answered — "The  [American]  Episcopalians  doubtless 
will  revere  the  superior  whom  they  have  recommended  and  chosen." 
To  this  it  may  be  added,  that  Bishop  Seabury  never  was  intended  to  be 
the  suffragan  of  those  mighty  prelates,  and  that  so  far  from  the  law  of 
1748  prohibiting  them  from  ordaining  a  single  deacon,  the  Scottish 
Bishops  not  only  continued  to  ordain  deacons  and  priests,  but  conse- 
crated Bishops  as  vacancies  occurred. 

It  is  next  stated  that  the  Presbyterians  on  the  south  and  the  Episco- 
palians on  the  north  side  of  the  Tweed,  "  both  equally  Dissenters,  are 
both  equally  indebted  for  many  privileges  and  comforts  to  the  tolerating 
spirit  of  the  age  in  which  they  live."     To  this  assertion  it  is  replied — 
••  This  will  hardly  be  allowed  by  the  latter,  who  are  now  subjected  to 
nmre  severe  pains  and  penalties  than  the  rapists."     The  English  Pres- 
byterians, it  is  observed,  "strive  not  to  distinguish  themselves  by  any 
claims  to  Buperior  rank  ;"  but  it  is  properly  asked — "  How  can  they,  as 
Presbyterians  ?"  They  aspire  "  to  no  authority  beyond  the  guidance  of  a 
flock  which  voluntarily  elects  them  for  its  pastor-.'       Mr  Trban's  friend 
here  observes — "  The  Scottish  Bishops  are  also  elcotedby  their  respec 
tivc  flocks ;  and  bo  iras  Bishop  Seabury  by  30,000  Episcopalians  in  Con- 
necticut."    This,   however,  is  an  error.     In  whatever  manner  Bishop 
Seabnry  was  elected,  the  Scottish  Bishops  never  were  nominated  bj 
their  flocks  ox  congregations.     The  clergy  of  the  diocesi  -  are  the  elect 
orgi     .\  parallel  u  then  drawn  by  LL.  between  the  Presbyterian  mini- 

,.,-,  ■,,,,!  the  8  h  Bishopf,  in  Whicb  the  latter  are.  1  "i  M  tr- 


330  HISTORY  OF  THE 

ing  the  Establishment  of  that  country  in  which  they  are  tolerated  with 
contempt :" — and  that  among  them,  "  it  seems,  there  are  still  to  be  found 
Archbishops  of  St  Andrews,  though  the  fabric  of  its  cathedral  was  not 
more  effectually  destroyed  by  John  Knox,  that  great  deliverer  of  his 
country  from  religious  thraldom,  who  left  behind  him  a  name  superior  to 
all  titles,  than  the  very  existence  of  its  pretended  metropolitan  has  since 
been  annihilated  by  the  Act  of  Union."  The  gross  mis-statements 
here  quoted  sufficiently  evince  the  spirit  of  the  writer.  No  Scottish 
Bishop  ever  assumed  the  title  of  Archbishop  of  St  Andrews  since  the 
Revolution. 

This  attack  was  answered  by  a  writer  who  signs  himself  An  Episco- 
pal Clergyman  of  the  Scotch  Church,*  and  so  conclusive  is  the  reply,  that 
Mr  Urban  adds  the  following  compliment — "  We  think  the  correspond- 
ence of  this  learned  writer  an  honour,  and  shall  be  happy  in  the  continu- 
ance of  it.  Sit  anima  nostra  cum  sua."  A  keen  discussion  now  com- 
menced between  LL.  and  the  Scottish  Episcopal  clergyman,  which 
brought  several  antagonists  into  the  field.  This  controversy  attracted 
the  notice  of  Dr  Horsley,  then  Archdeacon  of  St  Alban's,  who  was  at  the 
time  carrying  on  a  warfare  with  some  of  Dr  Priestley's  followers  in  the 
same  periodical,  and  he  published  a  letter  signed  by  the  initials  of  his 
name,  in  which,  though  he  admits  that  he  was  comparatively  ignorant  of 
the  history  and  state  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  previous  to  the 
consecration  of  Dr  Seabury,  he  bestows  on  it  the  highest  commenda- 
tions ;  and  if  the  maxim  laudari  a  laudato  viro  was  ever  applicable,  it 
was  on  that  occasion. 

The  reception  which  Bishop  Seabury  experienced  at  his  return  to 
America  is  a  triumphant  reply  to  the  malignant  strictures  published 
against  him  and  the  Scottish  Bishops.  In  a  long  address  presented  to 
him  by  the  clergy  of  Connecticut  it  is  stated — "  We,  in  the  presence  of 
Almighty  God,  declare  to  the  world  that  we  do  unanimously  and  volun- 
tarily accept,  receive,  and  recognize  you  to  be  our  Bishop,  supreme  in 
the  government  of  the  Church,  and  in  the  administration  of  all  ecclesi- 
astical offices.  And  we  do  solemnly  engage  to  render  you  all  that  respect, 
duty,  and  submission,  which  we  believe  do  belong  and  are  due  to  your 
high  office,  and  which,  as  we  understand,  were  given  by  the  presbyters  to 

*  Gentleman's  ^Magazine,  vol.  lv.  p.  437-440,  generally  said  to  have  been  the 
Right  Rev.  Bishop  Gleig. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  331 

their  Bishops  in  the  Primitive  Church,  while  in  her  native  purity  she 
was  unconnected  with  and  uncontrolled  by  any  secular  power."  After 
dwelling  on  the  importance  of  having  a  resident  Bishop  among  them, 
and  alluding  to  their  first  application  to  their  "  Parent  Church,"  the 
clergy  of  Connecticut  observe — "  But,  blessed  be  God !  another  door  was 
opened  for  you.  In  the  mysterious  economy  of  his  Providence  he  had 
preserved  the  remains  of  the  old  Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland,  under 
all  the  malice  and  persecutions  of  its  enemies.  In  the  school  of  adver- 
sity its  pious  and  venerable  Bishops  had  learned  to  renounce  the  pomps 
and  grandeur  of  the  world,  and  were  ready  to  do  the  work  of  their 
heavenly  Father.  As  outcasts,  they  pitied  us  ;  as  faithful  holders  of  the 
apostolical  commission,  what  they  freely  received  they  freely  gave.  From 
them  we  have  received  a  free,  valid,  and  purely  ecclesiastical  Episcopacy, 
arc  thereby  made  complete  in  all  our  parts,  and  have  a  right  to  be  con- 
sidered as  a  living,  and  we  hope  through  God's  grace  shall  be  a  vigor- 
ous, branch  of  the  Catholic  Church.  To  these  venerable  fathers  our 
thanks  are  due,  and  they  have  them  most  fervidly.  May  the  Almighty 
be  their  rewarder,  regard  them  in  mercy,  support  them  under  the  per- 
secutions of  their  enemies,  and  turn  the  hearts  of  their  persecutors,  and 
make  their  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity  known  unto  all  men  !  And 
wherever  the  American  Episcopal  Church  shall  be  mentioned  in  the 
world,  may  this  good  deed,  which  they  have  done  for  us,  be  spoken  of 
for  a  memorial  of  them ! " 

To  this  affectionate  address,  which  was  presented  at  Middletown, 
August  3,  17-s.">,  Bishop  Seabury  made  a  suitable  reply.  In  concluding 
he  observed — "  The  sentiments  you  entertain  of  the  venerable  Bishops 
in  Scotland  are  highly  pleasing  to  me.  Their  conduct  throughout  the 
whole  business  was  candid,  friendly,  and  Christian  ;  appearing  to  me  to 
arise  from  a  just  sense  of  duty,  and  to  be  founded  in,  and  conducted  bj, 
the  true  principles  of  the  Primitive  Apostolical  Church  ;  and  I  hope  you 
will  join  with  me  in  manifestations  of  gratitude  to  them,  by  always  keep- 
in--  iij)  the  most  intimate  communion  between  them  and  their  Buffering 
Church." 

A  i.t:  i  rritten  from  New  England  at  that  time  contains  the  fol 
lowing  intimations: — M  Samuel  Seabury,  I>.1>.  has  arrived,  and  set 
tied  in  New  Louden  as  Bishop  of  Connecticut,  after  havii  n  conse 

crated  bj  the  Nonjuring  Bishops  in  Scotland.     The  Doctor  has  be* 


332  HISTORY  OF  THE 

recognized  by  the  clergy  at  Middletown  as  their  Bishop.  The  general 
reception  that  Dr  Seabury  has  met  with  from  all  sects  and  denomina- 
tions is  truly  surprising.— The  Bishop  performs  divine  service  every 
Sunday  in  the  meeting-house  according  to  the  Church  of  England,  as 
the  church  was  burnt  by  General  Arnold,  and  all  parties  attend  him 
there. — We  have  room  for  reformation  in  Church  and  State.  Among 
the  changes  daily  happening,  a  coalition  between  the  Episcopalians  in 
the  six  New  England  States  is  approaching.  When  that  event  shall 
take  place  Episcopacy  will  do  more  towards  our  reformation  than  all  the 
charities  and  political  manoeuvres  of  Great  Britain  have  done  in  the 
century  past  without  a  bishop."  That  coalition  soon  happened,  but 
whether  it  was  attended  by  the  sanguine  results  anticipated  it  would  be 
fruitless  now  to  inquire. 

Here  it  is  the  proper  place  to  introduce  a  subject  which  the  present 
writer  well  remembers  to  have  heard  related,  although  he  has  failed  in 
every  attempt  to  recollect  or  trace  his  authority.  The  accuracy,  or  even 
authenticity,  of  the  circumstance  is  not  maintained ;  but  as  there  is  no- 
thing improbable  in  the  matter,  it  may  be  received  with  whatever  de- 
gree of  credit  the  reader  pleases.  The  celebrated  John  Wesley  first 
came  to  Scotland  in  1761,  and  brought  with  him  one  of  his  preachers 
named  Christopher  Hopper.  His  first  sermon  was  preached  in  the  town 
of  Musselburgh,  six  miles  from  Edinburgh,  where  a  Methodist  Society 
still  exists.  Wesley  was  repeatedly  afterwards  in  Scotland,  and  several 
preachers  were  sent  thither,  who  formed  congregations  ;  but  the  people 
being  opposed  to  Methodism,  the  Wesleyan  Societies  never  flourished  ; 
the  alleged  Arminianism  of  their  indefatigable  founder  was  a  stumbling- 
block  to  the  resolute  Calvinistic  Presbyterians  ;  and  so  bitterly  were 
Wesley  and  his  preachers  opposed  by  the  Seceders  in  particular,  that 
one  of  the  latter  maintained  the  propriety  of  hewing  the  Methodists  in 
pieces  before  the  Lord,  referring  to  the  case  of  Agag  slain  by  the  pro- 
phet Samuel.  The  singular  constitution  of  the  Methodist  Societies 
was  also  an  object  of  dislike  to  the  Presbyterians,  who,  with  all  their 
peculiarities,  prefer  their  ministers  to  be  constantly  settled  among  them 
to  a  wandering  and  ever-changing  itinerancy. 

It  does  not  appear  that  Wesley  had  any  particular  communications 

with  the  Scottish  Episcopal  clergy  during  his  various  peregrinations. 

Their  depressed  condition  precluded  them  from  holding  any  intercourse 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  333 

with  him,  if  they  had  been  inclined  ;  but  his  opinions,  practices,  and 
itinerating  habits,  would  find  little  favour  with  men  who  could  not  view 
him  in  any  other  light  than  as  the  originator  of  a  serious  schism,  notwith- 
standing his  repeatedly  professed  attachment  to  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land.   It  is  nevertheless  said  that  in  the  year  1784,  or  at  least  after  the 
independence  of  the  United  States  had  been  recognized,  when  Wesley 
was  organizing  a  plan  to  extend  the  Methodist  Societies  to  America, 
either  he,  or  some  one  authorized  by  him,  applied  to  Bishop  Kilgour,  the 
Primus,  to  consecrate  the  Rev.  Dr  Coke,  one  of  the  few  clergymen  of 
the  Church  of  England  who  joined  him.     The  application  was  refused, 
and  Wesley,  in  the  year  1784,  summoned  Dr  Coke  and  a  Mr  Francis 
Asbury  to  Bristol,  where,  in  defiance  of  all  rule,  authority,  and  order, 
he  committed  the  most  extraordinary  act  of  consecrating  those  gentlemen 
Bishops  to  America,  and  from  them  the  religious  association  in  the  United 
States,  dignified  with  the  title  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  have 
their  succession  of  Bishops,  as  they  arc  called,  and  ministers  or  preach- 
ers.    The  sentiments  of  Wesley,  with  reference  to  this  unprecedented 
transaction,  are  contained  in  his  manifesto  to  Dr  Coke  and  Mr  Asbury. 
Although  he  declares — "  I  think  the  Church  of  England  the  best  con- 
stituted Church  in  the  world  ;"  yet  "  Lord  King's  account  of  the  Primi- 
tive Church  convinced  me  many  years  ago  that  Bishops  and  Presbyters 
are  the  same  order,  and  consequently  have  the  same  right  to  ordain." 
With  this,  and  an  abridgment  or  new  arrangement  of  the  Liturgy  for 
his  followers,  he  seems  to  have  satisfied  his  conscience.     Such  is  the 
substance  of  the  story  respecting  Wesley's  application  in  Scotland.    He 
admits  that  he  had  himself  applied  to  the  Bishop  of  London  to  ordain 
"  only  one  "  of  his  preachers,  and  "  could  not  prevail."     It  was,  per- 
haps, after  this  that  he  caused  the  application  to  be  made  to  Bishop 
Kilgour,  but  in  what  way  it  was  done,  whether  directly  from  Wesley 
himself,  which  is  very  unlikely,  or  by  another  party  either  orally  or 
by  letter,  it  is  impossible  to  say,  as  it  was  never  submitted  to  the 
Church.* 

Returning  to  the  internal  affairs  of  the  Church,  Bishop  Skinner  had 

It   is   proper  to  state,  that  in  mentioning  this  circumstance  to  the  Right  Rev. 
Rishop  Torry,  Diocesan  of  Dunkcld,  Dunblane,  and  Fife,  th:it  Right  Reverend  Pre 
late,  wllO  had  every  opportunity  of  knowing  mud)   of  Bishop  Kilgour's  correspond- 
ing declared  that  he  had  never  heard  ot  Wesley's  application. 


334  HISTORY  OF  THE 

succeeded  Bishop  Kilgour  as  sole  diocesan  of  Aberdeen  in  1784.  In  1787 
three  consecrations  took  place.  On  the  7th  of  March  the  Rev.  Andrew 
Macfarlane,  presbyter  at  Inverness,  was  consecrated  at  Peterhead  by 
Bishops  Kilgour,  Petrie,  and  Skinner,  and  appointed  coadjutor  to 
Bishop  Petrie,  whom  he  soon  afterwards  succeeded  as  diocesan  of  the 
united  districts  of  Ross  and  Moray.  On  the  26th  of  September  the 
Rev.  Dr  William  Abernethy  Drummond,  of  Hawthornden,  presbyter  in 
Edinburgh,  and  the  Rev.  John  Strachan,  presbyter  in  Dundee,  were 
consecrated  at  Peterhead  by  Bishops  Kilgour,  Skinner,  and  Macfarlane. 
Bishop  Abernethy  Drummond  was  appointed  to  the  diocese  of  Brechin, 
that  diocese  having  been  vacant  since  the  death  of  Bishop  limes  in  1781, 
and  Bishop  Strachan  was  nominated  his  coadjutor  ;  but  soon  afterwards 
the  former  was  elected  by  the  presbyters  of  Edinburgh  to  be  their  dio- 
cesan, and  he  resigned  his  connection  with  the  diocese  of  Brechin  to 
Bishop  Strachan. 

After  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Seabury  various  plans  were  proposed 
by  the  friends  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  to  procure  a  repeal  of  the 
penal  laws  of  1746  and  1748,  but  the  predilections  of  some  of  the  older 
clergy,  supported  by  their  laity,  proved  an  obstacle  as  long  as  Prince 
Charles  Edward  was  alive.  In  the  summer  of  1786  one  of  the  Scottish 
clergy  resided  some  time  in  England,  and  held  many  conversations  on 
the  subject  not  only  with  Dr  Home,  then  Dean  of  Canterbury  (after- 
wards Bishop  of  Norwich),  and  Dr  Berkeley,  but  with  the  Primate.  It 
was  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  Archbishop,  and  the  two  dignitaries 
now  named,  that  no  attempt  should  be  made  to  procure  a  repeal  of  those 
laws  during  the  life  of  the  Count  of  Albany,  as  the  Prince  was  styled, 
which  was  not  then  likely  to  be  of  long  duration.  "  When  you  do  ap- 
ply for  a  repeal,"  said  the  Archbishop,  "  take  care  not  to  ask  too  much, 
lest  you  obtain  nothing.  You  were  happy  and  prosperous  under  Queen 
Anne's  toleration  ;  ask  nothing  more  than  to  be  again  placed  under  its 
protection.  Let  him  who  shall  take  the  lead  in  your  favour  in  either 
House  of  Parliament  move  for  nothing  more  at  first  than  a  simple  re- 
peal of  the  laws  of  1746  and  1748.  These  laws  are  so  severe,  and  will 
appear  so  unjust,  that  the  bare  reading  of  them  will  carry  the  motion 
unanimously ;  and  if  you  shall  find  it  necessary  to  ask  for  more  after- 
wards, more  will  probably  be  granted  to  you." 

During  this  period  we  are  told  that  "  the  soundness  of  this  advice  was 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  335 

universally  admitted  at  the  time  by  the  Episcopal  clergy  in  Edinburgh 
and  its  neighbourhood.  It  so  happened  before  the  death  of  the  Count  of 
Albany  that  a  clergyman  had  been  consecrated  a  Bishop  of  the  Scottish 
Episcopal  Church  who  had  great  influence,  anddeservedon  many  accounts 
to  have  great  influence,  in  that  Church,  but  who  was  very  ill  qualified  to 
conduct  any  measure  with  address,  coolness,  and  delicacy.  When  a 
presbyter  he  was  amongst  the  loudest  in  his  praises  of  the  plan  of  pro- 
ceeding recommended  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  ;  but  when  he 
became  a  Bishop  he  changed  his  sentiments  with  respect  to  Queen 
Anne's  Act  of  Toleration."  This  refers  to  Bishop  Abernethy  Drum- 
mond,  who  had  some  scruples  respecting  the  Oath  of  Abjuration,  and  who 
remained  inflexible  in  his  opinions  "  about  a  new  Oath  which  he  had 
framed  for  the  Scottish  Episcopal  clergy,  to  be  taken  instead  of  the 
Oaths  of  Allegiance,  Abjuration,  and  Supremacy,  and  founded  on  that 
Oath  an  act  for  a  very  ample  toleration."  But  as  in  all  contemplated 
measures  there  will  ever  be  differences  of  opinion,  it  is  unnecessary  to 
enter  into  details  which  are  now  forgotten,  and  which  at  the  present 
time  would  possess  little  interest. 

On  the  31st  January  1788,  Prince  Charles  Edward  expired  at  Rome, 
aged  sixty-seven  years,  leaving  no  issue  except  an  illegitimate  daughter, 
whom  he  ordered  to  be  designated  Duchess  of  Albany,  and  to  whom  he 
bequeathed  all  his  property,  which  was  very  considerable,  in  the  French 
Funds,  while  to  his  brother  the  Cardinal  York  he  left  his  claims  to  the 
British  throne,  though  that  prince  had  rendered  these  nugatory  by  becom- 
ing an  ecclesiastic.  Yet  the  Cardinal  Prince  did  not  hesitate  to  make 
a  solemn  protestation  that  he  did  not  renounce  his  pretensions  to  his  he- 
reditary realms — that  the  sanctity  of  his  ecclesiastical  character  could 
he  no  impediment  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man — and  that,  while  thus 
asserting  his  own  right,  he  would  transmit  it  to  the  prince  next  of  kin. 
All  these  were  empty  or  at  least  vain  declarations  ;  the  race  of  tie' 
Stuart-  had  run  their  course,   and  their  claims  were  at  last  viewed  :i- 

utterly  hopelei  Tho  Scottish  Episcopalians  could  now  otter  their  alio* 
giancc  t<>  George  111.  without  derogating  from  their  honour,  or  aban- 
doning those  principles  for  which  they  had  severely  suffered,  This  datj 
they  performed  spontaneously,  and  without  making  any  stipulation 
( )n  tin-  24th  of  April  17ss;.  after  various  preliminary  consultations  among 
the  clergy,  tin;  Bishops  met  at  Aberdeen  t<»  deliberate  on  the  aflairs  of 


336  HISTORY  OF  THE 

the  Church,  when,  after  a  conference  with  the  presbyters,  it  was  unani- 
mously resolved  that  the  reigning  sovereign  and  the  Royal  Family  should 
be  prayed  for  hy  name  in  all  the  chapels  of  the  dioceses  under  their  ju- 
risdiction. There  were  only  two  who  did  not  cordially  approve  of  this 
resolution— Bishop  Rose  of  Dunblane,  then  very  far  advanced  in  years 
and  almost  in  a  state  of  dotage,  and  the  Rev.  Mr  Browne  of  Montrose, 
in  the  diocese  of  Brechin.  A  third  is  mentioned  who  entertained  some 
scruples,  but  as  he  was  "  a  pious  and  sensible  man,"  and  had  "  truth  for 
his  object,"  he  soon  saw  it  his  duty  to  comply,  and  "  followed  the  ex- 
ample of  his  fathers  and  brethren."  The  resolution  adopted  at  this 
meeting  was  duly  notified  in  all  the  Edinburgh  and  Aberdeen  news- 
papers of  the  time. 

It  was  propitious  for  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  at  this  crisis  that 
Bishop  Skinner  of  Aberdeen  succeeded  Bishop  Kilgour  as  Primus  in  1788, 
at  the  resignation  of  that  venerable  and  pious  prelate,  who,  in  March  1790, 
died  at  Peterhead  in  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  his  age,  and  fifty-third 
of  his  clerical  life,  twenty-two  years  of  which  he  had  adorned  the  epis- 
copate. Bishop  Skinner  not  only  organized  the  affairs  of  his  own  dio- 
cese, but  was  enabled  to  promote  that  harmony  throughout  the  Church 
which  was  the  harbinger  of  its  present  peace  and  unity. 

The  Scottish  Bishops  thought  it  their  duty  to  lay  before  the  Govern- 
ment a  memorial  of  their  proceedings,  which  was  dated  April  26,  1788, 
and  transmitted  to  Lord  Sydney,  one  of  the  Principal  Secretaries  of 
State.  Meanwhile  his  Majesty  King  George  and  all  the  Royal  Family 
were  prayed  for  publicly  by  name  in  all  the  chapels  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Bishops,  with  the  exception  of  the  Rev.  Mr  Browne's,  on  the 
25th  day  of  May  1788.  The  Archbishops  of  Canterbury  and  York 
were  also  addressed,  and  the  Scottish  Bishops  expressed  to  those  Pre- 
lates their  "  humble  confidence  that  upon  their  Graces'  recommending 
to  the  Bishops  of  their  respective  Provinces  the  measure  of  repeal  of 
those  penal  statutes  under  which  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland  has 
so  long  groaned,  they  cannot  but  doubt  that,  by  such  powerful  assist- 
ance, they  shall  obtain  the  desirable  end  they  have  in  view." 

The  memorial  to  Lord  Sydney  was  answered  by  that  nobleman  on 
the  28th  of  June,  and  in  his  reply  he  informed  the  Scottish  Bishops  that 
he  had  not  failed  to  lay  it  before  his  Majesty,  who  had  received  "with 
great  satisfaction  this  proof  of  their  attachment  to  his  person  and  go- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  337 

vernment. "  Encouraged  by  the  flattering  manner  in  which  this  me- 
morial had  been  received,  the  Bishops  occupied  themselves  in  consult- 
ing with  various  distinguished  persons  in  the  State,  respecting  the  most 
judicious  mode  in  which  they  might  petition  Parliament  for  a  repeal  of 
the  Acts  of  1746  and  1748  ;  but  at  that  time  the  King's  alarming  in- 
disposition  delayed  all  business,  except  that  of  providing  for  the  exigen- 
cies of  the  Government.  His  Majesty's  recovery,  however,  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  removed  the  national  anxiety,  and  elicited  many  loyal  ad- 
dresses, among  which  was  one  from  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church.  In 
1789  the  draught  of  a  bill  of  relief  was  prepared  by  Bishop  Skinner  at 
the  express  desire  of  the  Right  Hon.  Henry  Dundas,  then  Treasurer  of 
the  Navy,  afterwards  Viscount  Melville,  and  forwarded  to  him  at  his  seat 
near  Edinburgh  ;  but  as  that  gentleman  had  been  unexpectedly  sum- 
moned to  London  before  he  could  give  his  opinion  fully  on  the  nature 
and  language  of  the  bill,  it  was  suggested  by  the  active  friends  of  the 
measure  that  nothing  would  likely  be  done  in  its  favour  by  either  branch 
of  the  Legislature  unless  some  of  those  concerned  repaired  to  London, 
and  watched  it  in  its  different  stages  of  progress  through  the  Parliament, 
by  which  means  any  difficulties  might  be  instantly  solved,  and  the  measure 
prevented  from  being  relinquished.  This  was  the  opinion  of  George 
Dempster,  Esq.  of  Dunnichen,  member  for  the  county  of  Forfar,  a  zeal- 
ous supporter  of  the  measure,  who  informed  Bishop  Skinner  that  "  un- 
less a  member  of  Administration  would  positively  pledge  himself  to  in- 
troduce into  Parliament  the  bill  for  repealing  the  penal  statutes,  and  to 
carry  it  through  all  its  stages,  it  would  be  absolutely  necessary  for  some 
of  the  Bishops  to  repair  to  London,  there  to  appear  as  loyal  subjects, 
claiming  a  just  and  reasonable  relief  not  only  for  themselves,  but  for  the 
society  to  which  they  belonged."  This  was,  indeed,  rendered  the  more 
necessary  on  account  of  several  unfair  representations  transmitted  to  in- 
fluential quarters,  not  by  the  leading  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
Establishment,  who,  to  their  honour,  were  all  friendly  to  the  repeal, 
but  by  more  interested  parties.  "  Those  English  ordained  clergymen,  who, 
being  Scotsmen  by  birth  and  parentage/'  says  the  Rev.  John  Skinner, 
"  had  procured  orders  with  no  other  view  but  that  of  opposing  Sootti-h 
Episcopacy,  became  very  much  alarmed  at  the  favourable  reception  given 
l>v  all  ranks  of  men  in  Scotland  to  the  cause  and  claims  of  the  Church  of 

■ 

their  forefathers  ;  and  Dr  Bagot,  Bishop  "f  Norwich,  had  been  particu- 

\ 


338  history  or  the 

larly  applied  to,  to  thwart,  as  far  as  possible,  any  measures  that  might 
be  taken  by  the  Scottish  Episcopal  clergy  for  their  relief."* 

In  April  1789,  immediately  after  Easter,  Bishops  Skinner,  Aber- 
nethy  Drummond,  and  Strachan,  proceeded  to  London,  and  acted  with 
the  utmost  prudence  in  every  respect,  except  in  not  paying  sufficient  de- 
ference at  first  to  the  Lord  Chancellor  Thurlow,  whose  influence  they 
had  been  earnestly  entreated  to  secure.  His  Lordship  considered  their 
conduct  as  disrespectful,  and  as  those  dissensions  had  commenced  in  the 
Cabinet  which  eventually  separated  him  from  Mr  Pitt's  Administration, 
he  probably  considered  their  neglect  as  intentional.  The  Lord  Chancel- 
lor's conduct  and  peculiar  opinions  are  sufficiently  delineated  in  the  vo- 
luminous correspondence  published  by  the  Rev.  John  Skinner  of  Forfar, 
in  his  "  Annals  of  Scottish  Episcopacy."  The  first  bill  was  lost  in  the 
House  of  Peers  on  the  6th  of  Julv  1789,  and  it  succeeded  no  better 
during  the  two  next  sessions  of  Parliament,  though  the  management 
was  entrusted  to  three  gentlemen  to  whom  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church 
owes  a  deep  debt  of  gratitude — the  Rev.  George  Gaskin,  D.D.,  Secretary 
to  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  William  Stevens, 
Esq.  Treasurer  to  Queen  Anne's  Bounty,  and  Sir  James  Allan  Park, 
afterwards  the  Hon.  Justice  Park. 

Four  years  elapsed  before  the  Legislature  extended  the  relief  to  the 
Scottish  Episcopal  Church  which  had  been  so  ardently  desired,  the  chief 
men  in  power,  as  Bishop  Russell  observes,  "  having  had  to  combat  dif- 
ficulties which  did  not  in  reality  belong  to  the  question,  and  to  conci- 
liate parties  who  at  first  sight  appeared  to  have  no  interest  in  its  de- 
cision." The  Lord  Chancellor  Thurlow  continually  harassed  the  sup- 
porters of  the  Bill  and  its  presenters,  by  pettish  queries  and  frivolous  ob- 
jections unworthy  of  his  distinguished  abilities,  and  only  to  be  accounted 
for  from  his  dignity  being  offended,  and  the  indifference  he  felt  towards 
the  Church  in  general.  It  would,  however,  occupy  too  much  space 
to  give  an  abstract  of  the  numerous  letters  written  by  several  Noble 
and  distinguished  personages,  or  a  minute  account  of  the  various  de- 
lays and  annoyances  which  were  experienced  before  the  measure  was 
successful.  A  number  of  the  counties,  cities,  and  royal  burghs  of  Scot- 
land, petitioned  in  favour  of  the  Bill  in  1791.     On  the  2d  of  April  that 

*  Annals  of  Scottish  Episcopacy,  p.  89,  90. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  339 

year  the  Earl  of  Kellie,  one  of  the  Sixteen  Representative  Peers  of  Scot- 
land,  presented  three  petitions,  and  moved  for  leave  to  bring  in  a  bill 
agreeable  to  their  prayer.  Two  days  afterwards  the  Bill  was  read  a 
first  time  without  any  opposition  on  the  part  of  Lord  Chancellor  Thur- 
low,  who  merely  observed  that  some  alterations  would  be  necessary.  On 
the  2d  of  May  the  Earl  of  Elgin  moved  the  second  reading,  and  on  this 
occasion  the  Archbishops  of  Canterbury  and  York,  and  the  Bishops  of 
London,  Durham,  Salisbury,  St  David's,  Oxford,  Bangor,  and  Carlisle, 
were  present.  After  the  Earl  of  Elgin  had  stated  the  principle  of  the 
Bill  to  the  House,  and  the  situation  of  those  it  was  intended  to  relieve, 
the  Lord  Chancellor  left  the  Woolsack,  and  in  the  course  of  his  speech 
declared,  that  though  he  would  not  object  to  the  principle  of  the  Bill, 
he  thought  it  his  duty  to  make  some  observations  on  it ;  and  he  con- 
cluded by  remarking,  that  as  the  religious  principles  of  the  Scottish 
Episcopalians  "  were  not  sufficiently  known,  or  at  least  no  public  evi- 
dence was  given  what  these  were,  or  how  far  they  deserved  that  indul- 
gence which  was  intended  by  this  Bill,  he  did  not  think  it  would  be 
prudent  to  grant  it  on  such  a  broad  unlimited  footing,  as  it  might  open 
a  door  to  many  similar  applications,  and  create  much  unnecessary 
trouble  to  the  Legislature." 

Lord  Viscount  Stormont  replied  to  the  Lord  Chancellor,  and  his 
Lordship  was  followed  by  Dr  Horsley,  then  Bishop  of  St  David's,  who, 
in  a  speech  of  considerable  length,  and  characteristic  of  his  distinguished 
talents,  advocated  the  principle  of  the  Bill.  The  Earl  of  Kinnoull  made 
a  short  speech,  in  which  his  Lordship  described  the  members  of  the 
Scottish  Episcopal  Church  as  a  "  respectable,  quiet,  and  decent  body  of 
people,  who  in  the  most  trying  times  had  always  behaved  in  a  very  be- 
coming and  exemplary  manner,  and  were  therefore  well  entitled  to  every 
indulgence  which  the  Legislature  could  show  them."  The  question  was 
then  put  and  carried  without  a  division. 

In  the  meantime,  it  was  intimated  to  Bishop  Skinner  by  Bishop 
Horsley,  and  the  Earls  of  Kellie,  Elgin,  and  Fife,  that  the  only  condi- 
tion Lord  Chancellor  Thurlow  now  urged  was  the  necessity  of  the  clergy 
subscribing  some  public  declaration  of  their  religious  principles  at  ordi- 
nation, to  show  their  approximation  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  of 
England  ;  and  the  subscription  of  the  Thirty-Nine  Ajrtiolefl  wm  strongly 
recommended!  "  as  the  best  and  only  means  of  showing,  in  a  legal  man- 
ner, what  our  religious  principles  were,  and  that  our  Church  was  really 


340  HISTORY  OF  THE 

such  a  society  as  deserved  to  be  tolerated." — "  The  truth  is,"  says 
Bishop  "Russell,  "  the  Church  had  then  no  Articles  of  Religion  or  Con- 
fession of  Faith,  which  the  clergy  were  required  to  subscribe  previous  to 
ordination.  The  Protestant  clergy  in  Scotland,  as  well  Episcopal  as 
Presbyterian,  had  no  other  Confession  of  Faith  before  the  overthrow 
of  the  Church  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  than  that  which  was  drawn  up 
in  twenty-five  articles  by  Knox  and  his  associates,  ratified  by  the  Estates 
of  the  realm  on  the  17th  of  July  1560,  and  again  confirmed  by  the  first 
Parliament  of  James  VI.  in  1567. — It  was  superseded  among  the  Pres- 
byterians during  their  ascendancy  in  the  seventeenth  century  by  the 
Westminster  Confession  of  Faith,  but,  on  the  restoration  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  by  Charles  II.,  the  old  Confession  became  again  the  standard  of 
the  national  faith  till  the  Revolution.  From  that  period  the  candidates 
for  orders  in  the  Episcopal  Church  were  not  required  to  subscribe  any 
particular  Confession.  Being  all  ordained  by  the  forms  of  the  English 
Church,  they  solemnly  professed  their  faith  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  de- 
claring that  nothing  which  is  not  to  be  found  therein,  or  may  not  be 
proved  thereby,  is      be  taught  as  necessary  to  salvation."* 

But  the  wisdom  of  the  suggestion  of  Bishop  Horsley,  who  informed 
Bishop  Skinner  that  he  "  saw  the  justice  and  propriety  of  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor's remarks,"  in  reference  to  the  adoption  of  the  Thirty-Nine  Ar- 
ticles, is  at  once  obvious  and  intelligible,  and  was  adopted  with  little  hesi- 
tation. The  Bill,  altered  and  amended,  passed  the  House  of  Lords,  and 
on  the  1st  of  June  it  was  regularly  introduced  into  the  House  of  Com- 
mons by  the  Right  Hon.  Henry  Dundas  and  Sir  James  St  Clair  Er- 
skine,  afterwards  Earl  of  Rosslyn.  It  went  through  the  usual  stages  of 
procedure,  and  on  the  15th  of  June  1792  received  the  royal  assent. 

This  act,  which  repealed  all  previous  statutes,  made  it  imperative 
that  every  Episcopal  clergyman  in  Scotland  shall  at  his  ordination  take 
the  usual  oaths  in  the  ordinary  manner,  and  shall  subscribe  the  Thirty- 
Nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England.  The  penalties  for  offending  are 
a  fine  of  L.20  for  the  first  offence,  and  suspension  from  officiating  for 
three  years  for  the  second.  It  is  unnecessary  to  detail  all  its  provisions 
minutely.  There  is  one  clause,  however,  which  materially  affected  the 
Scottish  ordained  Episcopal  clergy.  The  act  provided  that  "  no  such 
pastor  or  minister  of  any  order  shall  be  capable  of  taking  any  benefice, 

*  It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  there  are  instances  of  ordinations  by  the  forms 
of  the  Scottish  Liturgy. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  341 

curacy,  or  spiritual  function,  within  that  part  of  Great  Britain  called 
England,  the  dominion  of  Wales,  or  town  of  Berwick-upon-Tweed,  or 
of  officiating  in  anj  church  or  chapel  in  either  of  the  same  where  the 
Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England,  as  now  by  law  established,  is  used, 
unless  he  shall  have  been  lawfully  ordained  by  some  Bishop  of  the 
Church  of  England  or  of  Ireland."  How  far  this  clause  was  expedient 
or  necessary  it  is  now  superflous  to  say  ;  and  undoubtedly  some  excep- 
tions should  have  been  introduced — at  least  the  exclusion  from  merely 
officiating  in  the  Church  of  England  was  harsh,  illiberal,  and  in  some 
repsects  unjust. 

Bishop  Skinner  having  now  seen  his  exertions  successful,  and  the 
Church  of  which  he  was  the  Primus  emancipated  from  the  thraldom 
of  the  penal  statutes,  returned  to  Scotland.  Before  leaving  London 
lie  left  a  token  of  the  gratitude,  esteem,  and  respect  of  the  Scottish 
Episcopal  Communion  with  the  Rev.  Dr  Gaskin,  Sir  J.  A.  Park,  and 
Mr  Steven.  A  polished  vase-shaped  silver  cup  and  cover  was  presented  to 
Dr  Gaskin,  with  this  inscription  : — "  the  episcopal  church  in  Scot- 
land, RELIEVED  FROM  PENAL  STATUTES,  OFFERS  THIS  HUMBLE  TESTIMONY 
OF  SINCERE  GRATITUDE  TO  THE  REV.  GEORGE  GASKIN,  D.D.,  TO  COMMEMO- 
RATE HIS  KIND  AND  IMPORTANT  SERVICES  TOWARDS  THE  OBTAINING  OF  THAT 

relief. — June  11,  1792."  A  similar  cup  was  presented  to  Mr  Justice 
Park,  with  the  same  inscription.  Mr  Steven,  being  unmarried,  pre- 
ferred a  literary  memorial ;  and  Bishop  Skinner  presented  this  excel- 
lent man  with  a  copy  of  "  Bruckeri  Historia  Critica  Philosophise,"  &c., 
with  the  same  inscription  as  on  the  cups  ;  and,  taking  leave  of  those  in- 
valuable friends,  arrived  at  Aberdeen  in  the  beginning  of  July  1702, 


342  HISTORY  OF  THE 


CHAPTER  XX. 

SYNOD  OF  LAURENCEKIRK  IN  1792 — CONSECRATION  OF  THE  REV.  JONATHAN 

WATSON LOYALTY  OF  THE  SCOTTISH  EPISCOPALIANS — CONSECRATION  OF 

THE  REV.  ALEXANDER  JOLLY ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  EPISCOPAL  FUND. 

The  history  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  after  the  repeal  of  the 
penal  laws  in  1792  is  of  a  strictly  ecclesiastical  nature.  A  general  Con- 
vention or  Synod  of  the  Bishops  and  clergy  was  ordered  to  be  held  at 
Laurencekirk  on  the  22d  of  August  1792,  for  the  purposes — "  First, 
Of  receiving  their  Committee's  Report  of  the  Proceedings  adopted  in 
carrying  through  the  Act  of  Repeal ;  Secondly,  Of  deliberating  on  an 
address  to  his  Majesty  ;  and,  lastly,  Of  devising  a  plan  for  establishing 
a  Fund  for  the  Support  of  the  Widows  and  Children  of  Episcopal  Clergy- 
men in  Scotland."  Meanwhile  letters  were  transmitted  by  Bishop 
Skinner  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Bishops  of  Salisbury 
and  St  David's,  the  Earls  of  Elgin,  Kinnoull,  Kellie,  and  Fife,  Lords 
Grenville  and  Stormont,  and  to  Mr  Secretary  Dundas,  thanking  those 
distinguished  persons  for  their  services  and  exertions  in  promoting  the 
successful  result  of  the  application.  Those  letters  were  courteously  ac- 
knowledged by  Bishop  Horsley  [then  of  St  David's],  the  Earl  of  Fife, 
Stormont  and  Grenville. 

The  Convention  met  at  Laurencekirk  on  the  day  appointed,  and, 
after  divine  service,  was  opened  by  Bishop  Skinner  with  a  long  ad- 
dress explanatory  of  his  proceedings,  after  which  the  thanks  of  the 
clergy  were  unanimously  voted  "  to  the  Committee  in  general,  and  to 
their  Right  Reverend  Preses,  for  the  rectitude  of  their  conduct  in  that 
important  trust  committed  to  them,   and  request  that  their  vote  of 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  343 

thanks  may  be  kept  in  the  archives  of  the  Church,  as  a  testimony  to 
after  ages."  It  was  then  found,  that  out  of  the  sum  of  L.305,  Os.  9d., 
raised  by  contributions  for  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  act  of  Parlia- 
ment, a  debt  of  L.213,  12s.  had  been  incurred  by  Bishop  Skinner,  which 
was  immediately  paid  to  him,  and  the  balance  of  £91,  8s.  9d,  was  also  or- 
dered to  be  deposited  in  the  hands  of  the  Primus,  to  form  the  nucleus  of 
a  Fund  for  the  Widows  and  Children  of  the  Clergy  ;  but  on  the  condition 
that  "  the  congregations,  or  at  least  a  majority  of  them,  which  have  not 
already  contributed,  shall  yet  consent  to  do  so,  otherwise  the  foresaid 
balance  shall  be  returned  to  the  congregations  which  have  contributed, 
in  proportion  to  the  respective  sums  advanced  by  each."  This  con- 
cluded the  business  of  the  Convention. 

On  the  20th  of  September  1792,  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Watson,  presby- 
ter at  Laurencekirk,  was  consecrated  at  Stonehaven,  in  the  countv  of 
Kincardine,  by  Bishops  Skinner,  Macfarlane,  Abernethy  Drummond, 
and  Strachan.  Bishop  Rose  of  Dunblane  died  at  a  very  advanced  age 
in  1791,  and  no  successor  had  been  appointed,  the  clergy  of  that  district 
being  attached  either  to  Edinburgh  or  Dunkeld,  as  suited  their  several 
localities.  Bishop  Watson  having  been  elected  by  the  clergy  of  Dun- 
keld, the  district  of  Dunblane  was  conjoined,  and  placed  under  his  juris- 
diction. Immediately  after  the  consecration  the  Bishops  formed  them- 
selves into  an  Episcopal  Synod,  and  an  address  to  the  King  on  the  pro- 
clamation for  the  prevention  of  tumultuous  meetings  and  seditious  writ- 
ings, issued  in  May,  was  produced  by  Bishop  Skinner,  and  unanimously 
approved.  The  Primus  also  submitted  to  the  consideration  of  the 
Bishops  on  this  occasion  the  propriety  of  interesting  the  clergy  in  their 
H'vcral  dioceses  in  certain  measures  sanctioned  by  the  Synod,  as  matters 
of  the  highest  importance  to  the  prosperity  of  the  Church.  These  mea- 
sures are  subsequently  noticed.  It  is  sufficient  to  state  here  that  these 
proceedings  were  the  preludes  to  the  subscription  of  the  Thirty-Nine 
Articles  in  1804.  Some  of  the  measures  were  submitted  to  the  clergy  of 
the  Diocesan  Synod  of  Aberdeen,  which  met  in  the  city  of  Aberdeen  on 
the  7th  of  November  following,  when  Bishop  Skinner  recommended  the 
clergy  to  give  those  important  subjects  their  immediate  ami  serious 
consideration,  and  requested  them  to  communicate  to  him  in  writing 
whatever  opinions  might  occur  t<»  them  concerning  "  the  outward  pro- 
>n  of  bith  in  this  Church,   the  celebration  iblic  worship,  the 


344  HISTOEY  OF  THE 

exercise  of  discipline,  the  catechetical  instruction  of  youth,  and  the  per- 
formance of  the  various  occasional  offices  of  religion,"  that  every  thing 
might  be  done  "  with  as  much  simplicity  of  manner  and  uniformity  of 
practice  as  possible." 

It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  allude  to  the  political  events  of  that  ever 
memorable  period,  when  the  French  Revolution,  exactly  a  century  after 
that  of  Great  Britain,  burst  forth  like  a  volcano  in  Europe,  and  its  act- 
ors exhibited  a  career  of  crime,  atrocity,  and  carnage,  without  a  paral- 
lel in  the  history  of  Europe.  The  loyalty  of  the  people  of  Great  Britain 
in  those  years  of  extraordinary  excitement  is  well  known,  and  none  were 
more  ardent  and  devoted  in  their  professions  of  attachment  to  the  reign- 
ing sovereign  and  the  monarchy  than  the  Scottish  Episcopalians.  That 
Church,  the  members  of  which  had  forfeited  all  their  temporal  advan- 
tages as  an  Establishment,  and  during  the  greater  part  of  a  century  had 
suffered  the  most  severe  privations  for  their  conscientious  attachment 
to  the  House  of  Stuart,  and  which  had  been  emancipated  from  the  pe- 
nal statutes  scarcely  one  year,  came  prominently  forward  with  expres- 
sions of  loyalty.  The  dioceses  of  Edinburgh,  Aberdeen,  Fife,  Dunkeld 
and  Dunblane,  Ross  and  Moray,  severally  published  declarations.  The 
principles  of  Jacobitism,  or  of  attachment  to  the  House  of  Stuart,  had 
become  exploded  at  the  death  of  Prince  Charles  Edward,  or  at  least 
were  recollected  merely  as  sentimental  reminiscences  of  former  times, 
and  as  connected  with  the  conscientious  scruples,  the  romantic  enter- 
prises, and  the  personal  worth,  of  a  former  generation.  The  formerly 
suspected  Nonjurors  were  found  in  the  ranks  of  every  loyal  association  ; 
the  clergy  often  addressed  their  congregations,  and  exhorted  them  to 
resist  the  contaminating  principles  which  were  then  busily  disseminated 
by  designing  and  irreligious  persons  ;  and  to  the  honour  of  the  laity  it 
can  be  proudly  said,  that  no  Scottish  Episcopalian  was,  "  during  the 
arduous  and  long  protracted  contest,  found  in  one  instance  guilty  of  se- 
dition, or  misdemeanour  of  any  sort,  or  even  accused  of  such  mal- 
practices."* 

At  this  period  Bishop  Skinner  and  his  colleagues  were  actively  em- 
ployed in  effecting  the  union  between  all  the  clergy  of  English  or  Irish 
ordination  and  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  and  it  was  considered 
of  importance  to  induce  those  in  the  city  of  Edinburgh  and  their  congre- 

*   Skinner's  Annals  of  Scottish  Episcopacy,  p.  '265. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  345 

gatioiis  to  conform  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop  of  that  diocese,  that 
an  example  might  thus  be  afforded  to  congregations  in  other  cities,  towns, 
and  districts  throughout  Scotland.  To  understand  this  in  a  proper  man- 
ner, it  is  necessary  to  explain  the  peculiar  position  of  both  parties. 

Previous  to  the  repeal  of  the  penal  laws  there  were  many  Episcopa- 
lians in  Scotland  who  were  not  Nonjurors,  and  who  professed  to  be 
members  of  the  Church  of  England.  Among  these  may  be  classified 
those  English  families  who  resorted  to  Scotland,  and  finally  fixed  their 
residence  in  some  of  the  cities  and  towns ;  and  English  mechanics  employ- 
ed in  manufactories,  potteries,  and  other  pursuits.  To  those  maybe  added 
not  a  few  of  the  Scottish  Episcopalians  of  rank,  who  resorted  to  the  quali- 
fied chapels,  as  they  were  designated,  rather  than  forfeit  the  political  pri- 
vileges which  the  act  of  1748  denied  them  if  they  persisted  in  their  ad- 
herence to  the  ancient  Communion.  In  the  cities  and  large  towns  there 
were  congregations  of  this  description,  numbering  in  all  about  one  half 
of  those  belonging  to  the  Church.  Those  congregations  easily  procured 
clergymen  from  England,  or,  as  it  sometimes  happened,  Scotsmen  or- 
dained in  England  or  in  Ireland,  and  those  clergymen,  being  duly  qua- 
lified according  to  the  act  of  1748,  and  having  taken  the  necessary  Oaths. 
of  Allegiance  and  Abjuration,  were  protected  by  the  Government.  But 
as  those  clergymen  had,  at  their  ordination  in  England  or  in  Ireland, 
taken  the  oaths  which  the  Scottish  Bishops  and  clergy  refused  during  the 
life  of  Prince  Charles  Edward,  they  could  not,  on  account  of  their  politi- 
cal situation,  submit  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Scottish  Bishops.  On  the 
other  hand,  they  laboured  under  all  the  disadvantages  resulting  from  the 
want  of  Episcopal  superintendence  ;  and  although  they  professed  them- 
selves to  be  Episcopalians,  they  were  in  reality  Independents,  and  were 
under  no  superior  ecclesiastical  cognizance.  Many  of  the  English  or- 
dained clergy  were  indeed  well  aware  of  their  peculiar  situation,  and  of 
the  inconveniences  resulting  from  it,  but  still  it  appeared  to  them  that  bo 

long  as  the  penal  laws  existed  they  could  not  consistently  unite  with  the 
Church. 

The    penal    law-  were   repealed,  and  Bishop  Skinner,    as    his  BOO 
I,  vrai  "  wholly  bent  towards  healing  the   unseemly  schism   which 

political  expediency  had  ceased  to  render  justifiable  in  the  Bight  of  men, 
ami  which  in  God's  sight  could  never  he  thought  be  justified."  It  ap- 
peared to  the  Bishop  and  others  that  the  most  likelj  means  to  ell 


346  HISTOKY  OF  THE 

a  speedy  union  would  be  to  invite  an  eminent  clergyman  of  the  Church 
of  England  into  Scotland,  and  be  there  consecrated  Bishop  of  the  dio- 
cese of  Edinburgh.  Dr  Abernethy  Drummond  was  at  that  time  Bishop 
of  the  united  dioceses  of  Edinburgh,  Fife,  and  Glasgow,  but  he  expressed 
his  willingness  to  relinquish  the  diocesan  jurisdiction  of  Edinburgh  to 
promote  a  measure  which  would  tend  to  strengthen  the  Scottish  Epis- 
copal Church,  and  make  the  communion  more  intimate  with  the  Church 
of  England. 

The  plan  was  wise,  although  it  was  not  on  this  occasion  accomplished. 
The  clergyman  proposed  was  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Boucher,  then  Vicar 
of  Epsom,  who  had  suffered  much  for  his  loyalty  in  America,  and  who 
was  respected  and  revered  by  all  who  knew  him.  So  highly  was  Mr 
Boucher  esteemed,  that  he  was  at  one  time  thought  of  for  the  Bishopric  of 
Nova  Scotia,  and  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  was  even  entreated  to 
obtain  him  for  Canada.  In  a  letter  to  Bishop  Skinner,  dated  13th 
March  1793,  Bishop  Abernethy  Drummond  states,  that  "  he  most  cheer- 
fully adopted  the  plan  which  he  [Bishop  Skinner]  and  Bishop  Watson 
proposed,  and  would  immediately  resign  in  favour  of  the  worthy  Vicar 
of  Epsom,  if  he  should  be  so  good  as  accept  the  See  of  Edinburgh." 
After  some  correspondence  Mr  Boucher  visited  Edinburgh,  and  his  re- 
ception, to  use  his  own  words,  was  highly  flattering  and  favourable. 
"  As  for  myself,"  he  says  to  Bishop  Skinner,  "  God  is  my  witness,  I 
have  much  at  heart  the  furtherance  of  his  glory  and  the  welfare  of  his 
Church.  If  these  are  promoted,  it  is  very  immaterial  whether  it  be  by 
me  or  not.  I  can  have  no  worldly  interest  in  view,  wherefore  do  I  re- 
quest and  charge  you  to  suffer  no  undue  partiality  for  me,  however  flat- 
tering and  grateful  that  partiality  may,  in  other  respects,  be  to  me,  to 
influence  your  judgment.  The  gratifying  of  such  feelings  neither  is 
nor  ought  to  be  beneath  our  notice,  but  in  the  present  instance  much 
higher  interests  demand  our  attention.  I  only  add,  that  if  Providence 
sees  fit  to  send  me  on  this  great  errand,  it  shall  be  the  business  Of  my 
life  to  pray  for  the  grace  of  God  to  enable  me  to  do  my  duty  in  so  pe- 
culiarly arduous  a  station." 

It  was  arranged  that  Mr  Boucher,  after  his  consecration,  should  offi- 
ciate as  one  of  the  ministers  of  the  Cowgate  Chapel,  Edinburgh.  The 
congregation  of  the  Cowgate  Chapel,  now  that  of  St  Paul's,  York  Place, 
consisted  of  upwards  of  one  thousand  persons,  many  of  whom  were  of 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  347 

the  first  rank  and  respectability  in  Edinburgh,  and  two  clergymen,  who 
had  the  distinction  of  senior  and  junior,  always  officiated  in  the  Chapel. 
The  gentlemen  composing  the  Vestry,  among  whom  was  the  late  Sir 
William  Forbes,  Bart.,  afterwards  prominently  noticed,  took  a  deep  inte- 
rest in  the  success  of  the  measure,  but  unfortunately  the  intentions  of 
the  Bishops  were  in  this  instance  frustrated.  It  was  industriously  cir- 
culated that  "  the  scheme  in  agitation  was  to  introduce  Bishops  into 
Scotland  with  the  sanction  of  Government,  and  on  such  legal  footing  as 
would  entitle  them  to  some  legal  jurisdiction."  Mr  Boucher  at  once 
declined  proceeding  farther  in  the  matter,  but  he  continued  throughout 
his  useful  life  a  warm  supporter  of  that  Communion  which  had,  by  this 
ignorant  or  malicious  rumour,  been  deprived  of  his  services.  He  died 
suddenly  in  1804,  regretted  by  all  with  whom  he  was  acquainted. 

The  unfounded  allegation  is  thus  discussed  by  Bishop  Skinner  in  a 
letter  to  Sir  William  Forbes,  Bart. : — "  That  the  proposal  of  bringing 
Mr  Boucher  to  Edinburgh,  as  the  instrument  of  uniting  the  two  orders 
of  Episcopalians  who  have  been  so  long  kept  asunder,  should  have  given 
any  offence  or  cause  of  alarm,  can  be  accounted  for  in  no  other  way 
than  by  supposing  that  the  whole  affair  must  have  been  grossly  misre- 
presented. The  introduction  of  Bishops  into  Scotland  with  any  legal 
claim  to  temporal  jurisdiction,  God  knows,  was  as  far  from  the  object  in 
view  as  it  is  from  my  view  to  claim  a  right  to  the  revenues  of  the 
Bishopric  of  Aberdeen,  or  to  the  jurisdiction  attached  to  those  reve- 
nues ;  nothing  more  being  intended  than  to  unite  the  Episcopalians  in 
Edinburgh  under  one  Bishop,  who  was  in  all  respects  to  be  on  the  same 

■  ting,  as  you  know,  witli  his  brethren  in  Scotland,  deriving  his  spi- 
ritual authority  from  the  same  source,  and  exercising  it  in  the  same  li- 
mited manner,  as  they  now  do  over  those  who  choose  to  acknowledge 
it,  and  over  those  only.  I  have  perused  with  great  attention  your 
totter  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  cannot  but  admire  the 
vnv  candid  and  proper  manner  in  which  you  stated  to  his  Grace  the 
situation  <»t'  those  of  the  Episcopal  persuasion  in  this  country.  The 
rery  good  and  favourable  terms  in  which  you  have  had  the  goodness 
to  mention   the  Scottish  ni>li<>]>-  deserve  my  particular  notice,  and 

mint  tail  to  make  a  deep  and  lasting  impression  <>u  our  minds.  May 
our  heavenly  Master  pour  down  his  richest  blessings  <>n  you  and  yours, 
;ni«l  enable  us,  hi>  nnworthj  servants,  to  acl  up  to  the  character  which 


348  HISTORY  OF  THE 

you  have  been  pleased  to  give  of  us  !  The  cause  which  we  have 
all  so  much  at  heart  is  now  in  such  good  hands,  and  will,  we  doubt 
not,  on  jour  part  be  so  properly  attended  to,  that  we  have  only  to 
wish  and  pray  for  success  to  your  laudable  endeavours,  whenever  the 
time  shall  come  for  exerting  them,  without  incurring  any  such  danger 
as  is  now  apprehended  ;  but  when  that  happy  period  will  arrive  is  best 
known  to  Him  who  knoweth  all  things,  and  has  not  only  times  and  sea- 
sons, but  the  hearts  of  men  in  his  hands.  The  spirit  of  seditious  disaf- 
fection, which  a  short  time  ago  threatened  to  break  out  into  acts  of 
open  violence,  has  received  that  seasonable  and  salutary  check  which 
was  the  earnest  wish  of  every  friend  to  social  order  and  good  govern- 
ment. Fain  would  I  hope  that  the  laudable  end  in  view,  by  the  pro- 
posed union  in  Edinburgh,  would  never  again  be  so  far  mi  represented 
and  mistaken,  as  to  give  the  least  cause  of  offence  or  ground  of  alarm  to 
any  person  of  common  sense,  whether  belonging  to  the  Establishment 
or  to  the  most  zealous  sectaries.  I  shall  long  to  hear  of  any  circum- 
stance that  may  prove  favourable  to  the  cause  of  that  happy  union,  while 
I  fervently  pray  that  the  God  of  unity  and  peace  may  bless  and  prosper 
your  good  designs,  and  finally  crown  them  with  that  success  which  may 
tend  to  his  glory  and  the  happiness  of  all  concerned." 

In  1793,  when  the  Friendly  Society  Act  was  passed,  Bishop  Skinner 
and  the  clergy  of  the  Diocese  of  Aberdeen  followed  up  the  sanction  of 
the  Convention  of  1792,  for  the  formation  of  a  permanent  fund  for  the 
benefit  of  the  widows  and  orphans  of  the  clergy,  and  indigent  members, 
by  taking  advantage  of  the  provisions  of  that  measure  of  the  legislature 
encouraging  Friendly  Societies  in  general.  After  defraying  all  the  ex- 
penses of  the  act  for  the  repeal  of  the  penal  laws  a  balance  remained, 
which  was  applied  to  the  establishment  of  the  fund.  The  Rev.  Roger 
Aitken,  clerk  to  the  Diocese  of  Aberdeen,  was  authorized  by  Bishop 
Skinner  to  submit  the  matter  to  the  other  Bishops  and  clergy,  who  for 
the  most  part  readily  expressed  their  approval,  and  the  necessary  regu- 
lations were  prepared  for  the  institution  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Friendly  Society.  "  On  the  19th  of  November  1793,  a  general  meet- 
ing of  those  Bishops  and  clergy  who  had  intimated  their  desire  to  be- 
come members  was  held  at  Aberdeen,  when  they  formed  themselves 
into  a  Friendly  Society  in  terms  of  the  Act  of  Parliament,  and  the  ar- 
ticles finally  approved  for  its  government  were  soon  afterwards  ratified 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  349 

by  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  for  the  county  of  Aberdeen,  as  the  law 
directed."  This  Society,  which  meets  annually  at  Aberdeen,  has  con- 
tinued  to  flourish  far  beyond  the  expectations  of  its  most  sanguine  pro- 
moters, and  it  was  liberally  supported  at  the  outset  by  lay  contributions. 
An  eloquently  written  Brief  was  prepared  by  Bishop  Skinner,  sanction- 
ed by  the  other  Bishops,  and  read  by  order  from  the  pulpits  on  the 
fourth  or  fifth  Sunday  of  Lent  1794*  The  Scottish  Episcopal  Friendly 
Society,  by  the  excellent  and  judicious  management  of  its  office-bearers, 
has  ever  since  its  institution  continued  in  a  most  prosperous  condition. 
Clergymen  only  are  admissible,  who  must  enter  within  three  years  after 
their  ordination  as  presbyters,  or  induction  as  incumbents,  otherwise 
they  are  afterwards  precluded  from  its  benefits.  This  Society  is  more 
particularly  noticed  in  the  sequel. 

No  farther  event  of  any  importance  occurred  in  the  history  of  the 
Church  towards  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  except  the  conse- 
cration of  the  Rev.  Alexander  Jolly,  presbyter  at  Fraserburgh.  That 
learned  and  truly  esteemed  man,  now  gathered  to  his  fathers,  was 
elected  by  the  presbyters  of  Ross  and  Moray  as  coadjutor  to  Bishop 
Macfarlane  ;  but  Bishop  Skinner,  as  Primus,  dissented  from  the  expe- 
diency of  the  measure,  when  his  sanction  was  requested.  It  is  only 
justice  to  the  revered  memory  of  Bishop  Jolly,  as  well  as  to  Bishop 
Skinner,  to  state  the  principles  on  which  the  latter  at  first  refused  to 
concur  with  the  election.  We  are  told  by  the  Rev.  John  Skinner,  that 
"  to  the  learning,  the  piety,  and  strictly  clerical  deportment  of  the  coad- 
jutor-elect he  bore  ample  testimony,  but  as  the  succession  was  then  suf- 
ficiently strong,  and  as,  in  his  view  of  tilings,  additional  clergymen  were 
more  wanted  in  the  Highlands  than  the  aid  of  an  additional  and  non- 
resident Bishop,  who,  though  in  most  respects  eminently  qualified  for 
the  office,  was  confessedly  ignorant  of  the  Gaelic  language,  the  Primus 
refused  to  sanction  the  choice  of  the  clergy  of  Ross  and  Moray,  or  to 
jive  his  concurrence  to  the  present  promotion  of  a  coadjutor  to  Bishop 
Macfarlane."  The  other  Bishops,  however,  took  a  different  view  of  the 
matter,  and  the  Bishop-elect  was  consecrated  at  Dundee,  on  the  24th  of 
Jane  17'.»<;,  by  Bishops  e\bernethy  Drummond,  Strachan,  and  Macfar- 
lane.    Bishop  .lolly,  however,  never  acted  a-  coadjutor.      The  di< 

•  This  document  ii  published  in  tin-  "Annals  of  Scottish  Episcopacy,*1  by  the 
Rer,  .!■  hn  Bkinnerof  Forfar,  p.  278-281. 


350  HISTORY  OF  THE 

of  Ross  and  Moray  were  disjoined  after  his  consecration,  and  the  pres- 
byters in  the  latter  were  placed  under  his  jurisdiction.  There  was  no 
personal  feeling  in  Bishop  Skinner's  conduct  on  this  occasion,  for  he 
was  guided  by  what  appeared  to  him  the  strongest  sense  of  duty  ;  and 
during  his  valuable  life  he  held  in  the  utmost  regard,  both  publicly  and 
privately,  the  venerated  Bishop  Jolly.  The  objection  as  to  the  Gaelic 
language  might  have  been  overruled,  as  it  must  in  all  probability  be  al- 
most impossible  to  obtain  a  Bishop  so  qualified  in  the  present  state  of 
the  Church.  But  Bishop  Skinner's  views  were  adopted  from  sincere 
conviction,  as  expressed  by  his  son  in  the  preceding  extract.  The  Pri- 
mus acted  on  this  occasion  in  his  usual  upright  maimer,  yielding  to  the 
different  opinion  of  his  colleagues  in  the  Episcopal  College,  and  cordi- 
ally acknowledging  Bishop  Jolly  as  a  brother. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  351 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


INTERNAL  AFFAIRS  OF  THE  SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH — WORKS  BY  BISHOP 

SKINNER SYNOD  OF    LAURENCEKIRK CONSECRATION  OF    DR  SANDFORD 

UNION  OF  THE  ENGLISH  AND  SCOTTISH  CLERGY DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  JOHN 

SKINNER    OF    LONGSIDE — DEATH    OF    BISHOP    WATSON CONSECRATION     OF 

DR  GLEIG  AND  DR  TORRY. 

It  was  fortunate,  under  Divine  Providence,  for  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church  that  Bishop  Skinner  was  Primus  at  the  close  of  the  eight- 
eenth century.  Amid  the  numerous  avocations  and  extensive  corre- 
spondence of  that  distinguished  Prelate,  he  found  leisure  in  1801  to  pub- 
lish the  excellent  little  work  entitled — "  A  Layman's  Account  of  his 
Faith  and  Practice  as  a  Member  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland, 
published  with  the  approbation  of  the  Bishops  of  that  Church  ;  to  which 
are  added  some  Forms  of  Prayer,  &c. ;  with  a  Letter  from  the  Rev.  Charles 
I  taubeny  to  a  Scottish  Nobleman  on  the  subject  of  Ecclesiastical  Unity." 
The  Scottish  nobleman  addressed  then  by  Archdeacon  Daubeny,  the 
learned  author  of  the  "  Guide  to  the  Church,"  was  the  Risjht  lion. 

« 

Robert  Auriol  Hay  Drummond,  who  succeeded  in  1787  as  ninth  Earl 
of  Kiimoull,  son  of  the  Hon.  and  Most  Rev.  Robert  Hay,  who  assumed 
tin*  surname  and  arms  of  Drummond,  as  heir  of  entail  of  his  great-grand- 
father William  Drummond  Viscount  of  Strathallan,  and  who  died  Arch- 
bishop of  York  in  177G.  The  subject  discussed  in  Archdeacon  Dau- 
beny's  Letter  i-  that  of  "separate  Episcopal  chapels,"  as  those  independ- 
ent Chapel*  wire   called,  the    incumbent*  of  whieh  were    persisting  in  B 

state  of  schism,  bj  refusing  to  acknowledge  the  diocesan  authority  of  the 
Scottish  Bishops.     A  second  edition  <>f  Bishop  Skinner's  valuable  work 


352  HISTORY  OF  THE 

was  soon  demanded  by  the  public,  which  he  personally  superintended 
while  in  the  press,  but  he  omitted  Archdeacon  Daubeny's  Letter,  and 
substituted  the  Canons  of  the  Church.  We  are  told  that  "  he  wished,  if 
possible,  to  have  the  schism  completely  healed  ;  but  when  out  of  twenty- 
two  chapels  in  a  state  of  separation,  fifteen  had  united  themselves,  he 
thought  it  expedient  to  drop  every  sort  of  public  appeal,  and  leave  to 
time  to  effect,  in  its  silent  progress,  what  had  withstood  the  force  of  ar- 
gument drawn  from  sources  human  and  divine."*  Subsequent  events 
prove  the  wisdom  and  prudence  of  Bishop  Skinner's  conduct  in  refer- 
ence to  a  schism  which  has  been  completely  healed  during  the  episco- 
pate of  his  son  and  successor  in  the  diocese  of  Aberdeen.  The  "  Lay- 
man's Account  of  his  Faith  and  Practice,"  which  was  at  the  time  of  in- 
calculable benefit  to  the  Church,  has  been  often  reprinted,  and  is  trans- 
lated into  the  Gaelic  language. 

The  schism  above  mentioned  has  now  happily  ceased  to  exist.  At 
the  commencement  of  the  century  numbers  of  the  clergy  acknowledged 
the  jurisdiction  and  authority  of  the  Scottish  Bishops.  Among  the  first 
of  those  who  conformed  to  proper  ecclesiastical  order  were  the  Rev. 
Charles  Cordiner  of  Banff,  a  gentleman  distinguished  by  his  antiqua- 
rian researches,  and  the  Rev.  Dr  Stephen  of  Cruden,  father-in-law  of 
Sir  James  Clarke,  Bart.,  Physician  to  her  Majesty  Queen  Victoria. 
So  convinced  were  the  clergy  of  their  duty  in  this  respect,  that  previous 
to  1805  all  those  of  English  ordination  in  the  dioceses  of  Edinburgh  and 
Glasgow  conformed,  with  the  exception  of  two  in  the  latter  diocese — Kelso 
and  Dumfries,  both  of  whom  with  their  congregations  subsequently  ac- 
knowledged the  jurisdiction  of  the  diocesan.  A  few  in  the  northern 
districts  continued  several  years  in  a  state  of  separation,  and  those  of 
Perth  and  Montrose  were  the  last  to  conform.  St  Paul's  Chapel,  Aber- 
deen, was  united  to  the  Church  in  1841,  during  the  incumbency  of  the 
Rev.  Isaac  Harris,  A.B.,  who  was  succeeded  in  1842  by  the  Rev.  Sir 
William  Dunbar,  of  Durn,  Bart.  There  is  little  doubt  that  the  "  Lay- 
man's Account  of  his  Faith  and  Practice"  was  of  essential  importance  at 
the  commencement  of  the  century  in  accelerating  these  unions,  and 
gradually  overcoming  the  schism. 

In  1803  Bishop  Skinner  conferred  another  benefit  upon  the  Church, 

*   Annals  of  Scottish  Episcopacy,  p.  293. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  353 

and  increased  his  theological  reputation,  by  the  publication  of  another 
well  known  work,  dedicated  to  Sir  William  Forbes  of  Pitsligo,  entitled, 
"  Primitive  Truth  and  Order  vindicated  from  Modern  Misrepresen- 
tation, with  a  Defence  of  Episcopacy,  particularly  that  of  Scotland, 
against  an  Attack  made  upon  it  by  the  late  Dr  Campbell  of  Aberdeen, 
in  his  Lectures  on  Ecclesiastical  History  ;  with  a  Concluding  Address 
to  the  Episcopalians  of  Scotland."  The  work  to  which  Bishop  Skinner 
wrote  this  most  conclusive  reply  was  a  posthumous  one  of  the  cele- 
brated Dr  George  Campbell,  Principal  of  Marischal  College,  who  died  in 
1796,  and  which  contained  the  substance  of  his  theological  prelections  to 
the  students  as  Professor  of  Divinity  in  that  University,  though,  in  con- 
junction with  Principal  Robertson  of  Edinburgh,  he  had  liberally  exerted 
himself  in  the  repeal  of  the  Penal  Laws.  Principal  Campbell  main- 
tained in  his  Lectures  that  not  only  the  polity  of  the  Church  of  England 
seems  to  have  been  devised  for  the  express  purpose  of  rendering  the 
clerical  character  odious,  and  the  discipline  contemptible,  but  that,  as 
"  no  axiom  in  philosophy  is  more  indisputable  than  that  quod  nullibi 
est  non  est,  the  ordination  of  our  present  Scottish  Episcopal  clergy  is 
solely  from  presbyters  ;  for  it  is  allowed  that  those  men  who  came  under 
the  hands  of  Bishop  Rose  of  Edinburgh  had  been  regularly  admitted 
ministers  or  presbyters  in  particular  congregations  before  the  Revolu- 
tion ;  and  to  that  first  ordination  I  maintain  that  their  farcical  conse- 
cration by  Dr  Rose  and  others,  when  they  were  solemnly  made  the  de- 
positories of  no  deposits,  commanded  to  be  diligent  in  doing  no  work, 
vigilant  in  the  oversight  of  no  flock,  assiduous  in  teaching  and  govern- 
ing no  people,  and  presiding  in  no  church,  added  nothing  at  all." 

To  these  and  similar  bold  and  preposterous  statements,  which  pro- 
bably not  a  Presbyterian  at  the  present  time  would  have  the  hardihood 
to  defend,  Bishop  Skinner's  volume  is  a  most  triumphant  reply.  This 
work  has  been  often  reprinted,  and  has  had  a  most  extensive  circula- 
tion. Its  author  received  many  congratulatory  letters  respecting  it  from 
some  of  the  most  distinguished  ornaments  of  the  Church  of  England. 
Two  yean  before  the  publication  of  "  Primitive  Truth  and  Order," 
in  a   letter  addressed    by    Archdeacon    Daubenj  to    Bishop  Skinner  he 

itafc  a  — "  I  do  not  hesitate  to  call  I>r  Campbell's  late  work  the  most 
hostile,  tin.'  most  illiberal,  and  the  most  unsupported  attack  that  has 
been  made  on  the  episcopacy  of  the  church  of  Christ,  while  his  attack 


354  HISTORY  OF  THE 

on  the  episcopacy  of  the  Church  in  Scotland,  added  to  the  notorious 
falseness  of  the  writer's  statement,  is,  rae  judice,  marked  with  a  superla- 
tive degree  of  meanness."  There  certainly  was  "  meanness"  in  thus 
assailing  the  Church  of  England,  and  inculcating  on  the  theological  stu- 
dents in  Marischal  College  that  the  polity  of  that  Church  "  seems  to 
have  been  devised  for  the  express  purpose  of  rendering  the  clerical  cha- 
racter odious,  and  the  discipline  contemptible,"  while  Principal  Camp- 
bell Avas  in  intimate  correspondence  with  some  of  the  English  Bishops 
and  other  dignitaries  ;  to  say  nothing  of  the  attack  on  the  Scottish  Epis- 
copal Church,  with  many  of  whose  clergy  and  laity  he  was  in  habits  of 
familiar  private  intercourse,  and  when  he  was  taking  an  active  share  in 
procuring  the  repeal  of  the  Penal  Laws.  This  is  the  more  obvious  when 
it  is  considered  that  the  members  of  the  Church  had,  on  the  principle  of 
impartiality,  as  much  right  to  maintain  the  jus  divinum  of  their  ecclesias- 
tical constitution,  as  the  Presbyterians  had  to  contend  that  their  system 
is  "  agreeable  to  the  Word  of  God." 

Bishop  Skinner  founds  his  whole  argument,  in  reply  to  Principal 
Campbell's  statements,  on  three  positions  : — "  I.  That  the  Christian  reli- 
gion being,  like  its  Divine  Author,  '  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and 
for  ever,'  ought  to  be  received  and  embraced  as  it  is  represented  and 
held  out  in  the  Scriptures  of  truth,  without  adding  thereto  or  dimi- 
nishing therefrom.  II.  That  the  Church  of  Christ,  in  which  his  religion 
is  received  and  embraced,  is  that  spiritual  society  in  which  the  mi- 
nistrations of  holy  things  is  committed  to  the  three  distinct  orders  of 
Bishops,  Priests,  and  Deacons,  deriving  their  authority  from  the  Apostles, 
as  the  Apostles  derived  their  commission  from  Christ.  And,  lastly, 
That  a  part  of  this  holy,  catholic,  and  apostolic  Church,  though  deprived 
of  the  support  of  civil  establishment,  does  still  exist  in  Scotland  under 
the  name  of  the  '  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,'  whose  doctrine,  disci- 
pline, and  worship,  as  happily  agreeing  with  the  doctrine,  discipline, 
and  worship  of  the  first  and  purest  ages  of  Christianity,  ought  to  be 
steadily  adhered  to  by  all  who  profess  to  be  of  the  Episcopal  Communion 
in  this  part  of  the  United  Kingdom."  Bishop  Skinner's  volume  elicited 
the  "  Presbyterian  Letters  addressed  to  Bishop  Skinner  of  Aberdeen, 
by  Patrick  Mitchell,  D.D.,  Minister  of  Kemnay,  Aberdeenshire,"  but 
this  performance  excited  little  attention.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that 
the  very  eminent  Presbyterian  authority,  Principal  Hill  of  St  Mary's 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  355 

College,  St  Andrews,  and  Professor  of  Divinity  in  that  University,  con- 
fessed that  "  Primitive  Truth  and  Order ''  was  the  best  book  of  the  kind 
in  the  English  language  as  a  defence  of  Episcopacy,  and  a  complete  an- 
swer to  Principal  Campbell. 

The  extensive  perusal  of  Bishop  Skinner's  work  was  attended  with 
the  happiest  consequences  to  the  Church  over  which  he  so  worthily  pre- 
sided. It  was  generally  read,  and  revived  the  desire  on  the  part  of  the 
few  "  independent"  Episcopal  clergy  and  their  congregations  to  acknow- 
ledge the  diocesan  jurisdiction  of  the  Scottish  Bishops.  To  accelerate 
this  desirable  measure  Bishop  Skinner,  with  the  concurrence  of  his 
right  reverend  brethren  of  the  Episcopal  College,  issued  a  circular, 
summoning  a  general  convention  of  the  Church  at  Laurencekirk,  on 
the  24th  of  October  1804,  the  object  of  which  was,  as  the  Bishop  stated 
in  the  circular,  "  to  exhibit  in  the  most  solemn  manner  a  public  testi- 
mony of  our  conformity  in  doctrine  and  discipline  with  the  Church  of 
England,  and  thereby  to  remove  every  obstacle  to  the  union  of  Episco- 
palians in  Scotland."  This  was  to  obviate  one  of  the  great  objections 
urged  against  the  union  by  the  English  ordained  clergy,  that  the  Church 
had  recognized  no  standards  or  articles  of  faith  ;  for  though  the  Act  of 
1 702  made  it  imperative  that  all  the  clergy  should  sign  the  Articles  of 
the  Church  of  England,  such  an  acknowledgment  had  either  been  ne- 
glected or  delayed,  though  these  Articles  were  always  understood  to  be 
received  by  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church. 

Previous  to  the  meeting  of  the  Convention  a  correspondence  was  begun 
witli  Bishop  Skinner  by  the  Rev.  Dr  Daniel  Sandford,  formerly  Student 
of  Christ  Church,  Oxford,  who  since  1702  had  officiated  to  a  respectable 
congregation  then  assembling  in  a  temporary  hall  in  West  Register 
Street,  Edinburgh,  and  who  appear  to  have  been  the  first  Episcopal 
congregation  in  the  New  Town  of  Edinburgh,  as  St  George's  Chapel, 
in  Y  <  nk  Place,  was  only  opened  that  year.  Dr  Sandford  stated  to  Bishop 
Skinner  that  however  much  the  union  was  to  be  desired,  subscription 
to  the  Thirty-Nine  Articles  was  indispensable  ;  and  that  if  these  Articles 
Wem  made  "the  permanent  coni'osional  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Com- 
munion, there  oan  be  no  objection  to  our  union  ;  nav,  on  the  contrary, 
that  our  continuing  in  separation  from  you  cannot  be  justified  on  anv 
grounds  which  will  bear  the  scrutiny  of  sound  ecclesiastical  principles  "" 

•  Annul*  of  Scottish  Ep]  eopacy,  p,  886  i  EUsnsim  of  Bishop  Bsndfard,  vol.  i.  p,  46 


356  HISTORY  OF  THE 

As  the  learning,  piety,  and  worth  of  Dr  Saudford  wore  well  known, 
such  representations  from  him  had  due  influence.  The  Convocation  as- 
sembled on  the  appointed  day  at  Laurencekirk  ;  and  Bishops  Skinner, 
Macfarlane,  Watson,  and  Jolly,  thirty-eight  presbyters,  and  two  deacons, 
were  present.  Bishops  Abernethy  Drummond  and  Strachan  were  pre- 
vented from  attending  by  old  age  and  infirmity.  After  divine  service 
was  concluded  by  Bishop  Watson,  as  pastor  of  the  congregation  at 
Laurencekirk,  and  a  discourse  from  the  pulpit  by  Bishop  Skinner, 
which  he  was  requested  to  publish,  the  Convocation  was  constituted  by 
him,  and  after  due  and  solemn  deliberation  the  Thirty-Nine  Articles 
were  adopted  and  subscribed,  as  the  permanent  standards  of  the  Scot- 
tish Episcopal  Church,  to  which  assent  was  to  be  given  by  all  candi- 
dates for  holy  orders.  As  many  of  the  indigenous  clergy  used  the 
Office  for  the  administration  of  the  eucharist  as  drawn  up  in  the  Scot- 
tish Liturgy,  it  was  enjoined  that  the  English  clergy  uniting  themselves 
to  the  Church  should  be  at  liberty  to  retain  the  Office  as  set  forth  in  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer.  As  soon  as  the  Convocation  was  dissolved, 
Bishop  Skinner  addressed  letters  to  the  Archbishops  and  Bishops  of  the 
Church  of  England,  the  Archbishop  of  Armagh  as  Primate  of  the  Irish 
Church,  and  subsequently  to  all  the  other  Irish  Archbishops  and  Bishops, 
and  the  Bishop  of  Sodor  and  Man,  intimating  to  those  Prelates  the 
result.  Replies  were  duly  received,  expressing  the  most  friendly  regard 
for  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  their  approval  of  the  measure,  and 
their  hopes  that  it  would  promote  the  interest  of  religion. 

Dr  Sandford  had  now  no  hesitation  in  acceding  to  the  union,  and  he 
transmitted  his  acknowledgment  of  Bishop  Skinner  as  his  Diocesan, 
Edinburgh  being  then  vacant.  He  announced  his  resolution  to  his  con- 
gregation in  a  most  interesting  address,  in  which  he  laid  before  them 
his  reasons  for  so  doing,  showing  them  the  benefits  of  diocesan  jurisdic- 
tion, and  that  to  continue  in  a  state  of  separation  from  the  Church  was 
as  unnecessary  as  it  was  schismatical.  Dr  Sandford's  "  Reasons  for 
uniting  with  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Communion"  are  still  preserved,* 
dated  Edinburgh,  Nov.  7,  1804  ;  and  though  the  subject  has  lost  its  in- 
terest, because  the  schism,  as  already  mentioned,  no  longer  exists,  a 

*  See  "  Remains  of  the  late  Right  Rev.  Daniel  Sandford,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Edin- 
burgh, &c.  with  a  Memoir,  by  the  Rev.  John  Sandford,"  vol.ii.  p.  321,  325  ;  Skin- 
ner's Annals  of  Scottish  Episcopacy,  p.  550,  553. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  357 

few  extracts  are  of  importance,  more  especially  as  these  are  the  re- 
corded sentiments  of  such  a  truly  excellent  and  pious  Bishop.  Dr 
Sandford's  third  reason  is  : — "  That  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland  is 
a  '  true'  Church,  <  in  the  which  the  pure  word  of  God  is  preached,  and 
the  sacraments  are  administered,  according  to  Christ's  ordinance.'* 
The  doctrines  of  this  Church  are  the  same  with  those  of  the  United 
Church  of  England  and  Ireland,  the  Bishops  and  clergy  of  the  Episco- 
pal Church  of  Scotland  subscribing  the  same  Articles  of  Religion.  The 
Scottish  Bishops  are  true  Bishops  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  their 
Apostolical  Succession  is  the  same  with  that  of  the  Bishops  of  the 
Church  of  England,  for  the  present  governors  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church  derive  their  authority  in  a  direct  succession  from  those  Scot- 
tish Bishops  who  were  consecrated  by  the  Prelates  of  the  Church  of 
England  at  Westminster,  15th  December  1G61."  The  fifth  reason  is: 
— "  That  the  continuance  of  our  separation  is  therefore  wholly  cause- 
less in  every  point  of  view.  But  causeless  separation  from  a  pure 
Church  is  the  sin  of  schism — an  offence  of  which  it  is  impossible  that 
any  pious  and  enlightened  Christian  can  think  lightly.  '  It  is  contrary 
to  Christian  unity  to  separate  ourselves  from  a  Church  which  follows 
the  doctrines  and  ordinances  of  Christ  and  his  Apostles,  and  answers 
every  good  purpose  of  Christian  worship  and  Christian  fellowship.'  '  t 
"  Lastly,"  says  Dr  Sandford,  "  let  it  be  considered  that,  by  the  sub- 
mission of  our  clergy  to  the  Scottish  Bishops,  we  strengthen  instead  of 
weakening  our  connection  with  the  Church  of  England  ;  for  the  Church 
of  England,  as  a  pure  branch  of  the  universal  Church  of  Christ,  is  in 
communion  with  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland,  also  a  pure  branch 
of  the  Universal  Church  ;|  and  every  English  clergyman,  who  would  be 
faithful  to  the  principles  which   he  professed  at  his  ordination,   must 

*  *  See  the  Twenty- Third  Article  of  Religion." 

f  "  See  *  A  Short  Catechism,1  by  the  Right  Reverend  Thomas  Burgess,  Lord 
Bishop  of  St  David's." 

|  "  By  calling  the  Church  of  Christ  Universal,  we  mean,"  says  the  learned  Bishop 
of  St  David's,  in  tin-  Catechism  above  quoted,  "  that  the  Church  is  not  limited  to  any 
particular  nation  or  people,  but  comprehends  all  Christian  congregations  in  which 
the  \\  < <i-«  1  of  God  la  preached,  and  the  sacraments  arc  duly  administered  bj  persons 
rightly  ordained ;  and  that  these  congregations,  however  distant  or  numerous,  arc 
one,  \i\  community  of  laith  and  ordinances." 


358  HISTORY  OF  THE 

therefore  necessarily  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  Scottish 
Bishops  while  he  resides  within  the  jurisdiction  of  their  communion." 

Dr  Sandford  had  occasion  to  explain  himself  more  fully  in  a  letter, 
on  the  "  Spiritual  Character  and  Claims  of  the  Bishops  of  the  Episco- 
pal Church  in  Scotland,"  addressed  to  "  a  person  who  solicited  infor- 
mation on  the  subject  here  considered."  It  is  dated  October  27,  1815, 
but  the  letter  was  written  some  months  previous.*  After  referring  to 
the  consecrations  of  1661,  and  quoting  an  extract  from  the  Register - 
Book  of  Archbishop  Juxon  in  the  Library  of  Lambeth  Palace  on  the 
subject,  Dr  Sandford  says — "  From  these  consecrations,  in  regular 
legitimate  succession,  the  present  Bishops  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in 
Scotland  derive  their  spiritual  character  and  authority.  This  spiritual 
•character,  thus  legitimately  conferred  upon  them,  originating,  as  I  have 
shown  you,  in  the  consecration  of  the  four  Prelates  at  Westminster  in 
1.661,  completely  qualifies  those  upon  whom  it  is  conferred  for  the  spi- 
ritual superintendence  of  those  who  belong  to  the  communion  of  their 
Church.  To  this  Communion,  it  appears  to  me,  that  all  Protestant 
Episcopalians,  residing  in  Scotland,  are  bound,  by  their  profession  as 
Episcopalians,  to  belong ;  for  otherwise,  neither  they,  nor  the  clergy 
who  officiate  in  their  chapels,  will  find  it  easy  to  say  of  what  Church 
they  are  really  members.  While  they  reside  in  Scotland  they  neither 
are  nor  can  be,  strictly  speaking,  members  of  the  Church  of  England. 
The  Bishops  of  the  Church  of  England  have  no  authority  in  Scotland, 
and  never  lay  claim  to  such  authority.  On  the  contrary,  they  inva- 
riably acknowledge  the  spiritual  authority  of  the  Scottish  Bishops  within 
the  boundaries  of  their  own  Church,  whenever  circumstances  call  upon 
them  to  do  so.  I  will  give  you  instances  of  this,  which  consist  with  my 
own  experience. 

"  When  the  question  of  the  union  of  the  English  ordained  clergy  and 
their  congregations  with  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  was  much  agi- 
tated some  years  ago,  I  had  frequent  occasion  to  know  the  opinion  of 
many  of  the  English  Bishops  upon  the  subject ;  and  all  to  whom  I  had 
access  uniformly  recommended  the  measure  as  the  duty  of  the  clergy 
and  their  people  ;  and  two  of  them  (one  of  whom  had  unquestionably 

•  Remains  of  Bishop  Sandford,  vol.  ii.  Appendix,  No.  II. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  359 

no  superior  in  learning  on  the  Bench)  declared  to  me,  without  hesita- 
tion, that  they  considered  the  Episcopal  clergy  and  their  congregations 
who  continued  independent  of  the  Scottish  Bishops  to  be  guilty  of 
schism. 

"  Again,  it  is  the  custom  in  the  Church  of  England,  as  in  every  other 
Episcopal  Church,  that  when  a  candidate  for  holy  orders,  or  for  insti- 
tution to  a  benefice,  presents  his  letters-testimonial  to  the  Bishop  from 
whom  he  is  to  receive  ordination  or  institution,  if  the  clergy  who  have 
signed  the  testimonial  do  not  belong  to  the  diocese  of  that  Bishop,  their 
signatures  must  be  ratified  by  the  subscription  of  their  own  Diocesan 
before  it  can  be  received.  Since  I  have  been  a  Bishop,  it  has  happen- 
ed to  me  to  be  called  upon  several  times  to  countersign  the  signatures 
of  my  clergy  to  testimonials  presented  to  the  Bishops  of  London  and 
Durham  ;  and  but  very  lately  I  had  occasion  to  do  the  same  in  the  case 
of  a  testimonial  for  holy  orders,  which  was  presented  to  the  Archbishop 
of  York,  but  which  his  Grace  refused  to  receive  when  first  laid  before 
him,  because  my  signature  was  not  added  to  it.  I  mention  these  things 
merely  to  show  you  that  the  Bishops  in  England  consider  the  Scottish 
Bishops  as  fully  competent  to  the  exercise  of  the  spiritual  authority  of 
their  order  in  their  respective  dioceses  ;  and,  moreover,  that  they  con- 
sider the  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland  as  in  full  communion,  in  spirit- 
ual matters,  with  the  United  Church  of  England  and  Ireland. 

"  The  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland  is,  we  hope,  a  pure  branch  of  the 
Catholic  or  Universal  Church  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  her  Bishops,  regu- 
larly consecrated  to  their  sacred  office,  are  thus  duly  authorised  to  exer- 
cise their  spiritual  powers  within  the  jurisdiction  belonging  to  them. 
This  authority  they  do  not  cease  humbly  to  assert ;  and  you  see  that 
those  whose  learning  and  station  in  the  Church  of  England  well  qualify 
them  to  appreciate  the  validity  of  the  claim,  acknowledge  it  upon  all 
occasions.  At  the  same  time  the  Scottish  Bishops  lay  no  claim  to  the 
temporal  distinctions  which  belong  to  a  political  Episcopacy,  that  is,  to  a 
Church  connected  with  the  State,  as  is  the  United  Church  of  England 
and  Ireland.  We  have  no  title  of  '  Lord,'  as  if  we  were  Peers  of  Par- 
liament, although  we  assert  our  claim  to  be  addressed  as  '  Bight  Keve- 
rend' — a  designation  which  prejudice  or  ignorance  may  withhold,  but 
which  belongs  to  us  as  Bishops,  without  any  reference  to  political  ea 
tablishment.  Our  Church  ia  completely  tolerated ;  and  while  we  con- 
tinue to  exercise  our  prii  ilegee  as  Buch  inoffensively .  n  i  -  a  strange  p 


360  HISTORY  OF  THE 

judice  indeed  which  will  hesitate  to  give  the  designation  of  Bishops  to 
those  who  hold,  through  a  regular  succession,  an  office  which  is  necessary 
to  the  existence  of  an  Episcopal  Church.  I  have  sometimes  heard  it 
said,  and  heard  it  with  no  little  surprise,  '  that  there  are  no  Bishops 
in  Scotland  :' — But  there  are  Bishops  in  Scotland  (the  late  venerable 
Bishop  Home  used  to  say,  '  as  good  Bishops  as  himself,'  as  regularly 
consecrated  to  their  office),  although  those  Bishops  pretend  to  that 
authority  only  which  appertains  to  their  spiritual  office  ;  that  authority 
which  was  exercised  by  the  rulers  of  the  Christian  Church  in  the  pri- 
mitive ages  of  her  history,  before  '  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  had  be- 
come the  kingdom  of  Cod  and  his  Christ.' 

"  The  exercise  of  the  spiritual  authority  thus  vested  in  us  can  be  of- 
fensive to  no  one.  It  is  impossible  almost  to  imagine  a  case  in  which 
it  should  be  so.  We  are  '  ordained  for  men  in  things  pertaining  to 
God/  and  the  discharge  of  our  office  is  confined  '  to  these  things.' 
We  claim  no  temporal  authority,  no  temporal  distinctions  ;  we  inter- 
fere with  no  temporal  rights  of  the  congregations  who  adhere  to  our 
communion.  Our  appeal  is  to  the  conscience  of  our  people,  and  to  their 
sense  of  the  blessings  and  comforts  they  derive  from  the  regularity  and 
integrity  of  the  sacred  offices  of  the  Church.  From  the  clergy  we  re- 
quire no  more  than  the  canonical  submission  which  was  ever  paid  to  the 
governors  of  the  Church  in  the  best  and  purest  ages  of  its  history. 
From  the  laity  we  seek  no  more  than  that  reverence  and  regard  which 
no  well  principled  member  of  our  Communion  will  hesitate  to  render  ; 
and  no  such  persons  will  deny  the  importance  of  Episcopal  superinten- 
dence to  the  regular  administration  of  "  the  word  of  God,  and  the  sa- 
craments of  his  Church.'  "* 

The  example  of  Dr  Sandford  in  Edinburgh  was  followed  by  the  Re- 
verend Archibald  Alison,  LL.B.,f  Prebendary  of  Sarum  ;  the  Rev. 
Robert  Morehead,  D.D.,  then  of  Leith,  afterwards  for  many  years  Mr 


*  Remains  of  Bishop  Sandford,  vol.  ii.  p.  332-338. 

f  The  distinguished  author  of  "  Essays  on  Taste,"  "  Sermons  on  the  Seasons," 
&c  one  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  his  day,  then  one  of  the  clergymen  of  the  Cow- 
gate  Chapel,  and  afterwards,  at  the  removal  of  the  congregation  in  1819,  of  St  Paul's 
Chapel,  York  Place.  Mr  Alison  died  full  of  years  and  honour  in  1839.  He  was 
the  father  of  Archibald  Alison,  Esq.,  the  distinguished  historian  of  the  French  Re- 
volution, and  of  William  Pulteney  Alison,  Esq.,  M.D.,  Professor  of  the  Practice  of 
Physic  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  361 

Alison's  colleague  in  St  Paul's  Chapel  ;*  and  by  other  clergy  in  the  city. 
The  only  congregation  in  the  Scottish  metropolis  who  had  remained  in  a 
state  of  separation  was  that  of  St  George's  Chapel,  York  Place.  This 
congregation  was  added  to  the  Church  on  the  appointment  of  the  Rev. 
Richard  Q.  Shannon,  A.B.,  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  as  incumbent.! 
Among  the  laity  who  zealously  promoted  the  union  of  the  clergy  of 
English  and  Scottish  ordination,  thus  consolidating  proper  diocesan 
jurisdiction  in  the  Church,  Sir  William  Forbes  of  Pitsligo,  Bart.,  must 
not  be  omitted.  To  this  truly  distinguished  and  excellent  gentleman — 
the  descendant  and  representative  of  one  of  the  most  ancient  families  in 
Aberdeenshire — much  of  the  present  prosperous  and  extended  sphere  of 
the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  may  in  a  great  measure  be  ascribed  ;  and 
it  is  appropriately  observed,  that  "  it  is  the  chief  glory  of  that  Church 
to  have  formed  the  principles  and  trained  the  virtues  of  one  of  the 
most  perfect  specimens  of  the  Christian  character  which  Great  Britain 
has  ever  produced."  In  the  language  of  the  Rev.  Mr  Alison,  there  was 
no  person  of  the  age  "  who  so  fully  united  in  himself  the  same  assem- 
blage of  the  most  estimable  qualities  of  our  nature  ;  the  same  firmness 
of  piety,  with  the  same  tenderness  of  charity  ;  the  same  ardour  of  public 
spirit,  with  the  same  disdain  of  individual  interest ;  the  same  activity  in 
business,  with  the  same  generosity  in  its  conduct ;  the  same  indepen- 
dence towards  the  powerful,  with  the  same  generous  humanity  towards 
the  lowly  ;  the  same  dignity  in  public  life,  with  the  same  gentleness  in 
private  society."  By  descent,  if  it  may  be  so  expressed,  and  by  convic- 
tion, ardently  attached  to  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  while  he 
evinced  the  utmost  charity  to  those  of  other  religious  communions, |  no 

*  This  excellent  and  much  respected  clergyman,  also  well  known  for  his  eloquent 
published  Sermons  and  cither  works,  resigned  St  Paul's  Chapel  in  1832,  at  his  ap- 
pointment to  the  rectory  of  Easington  in  Yorkshire,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Right 
Rev.  C.  IT.  Terrot,  consecrated  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  in  1841. 

|  Mr  Shannon  resigned  St  George's  Chapel  in  1841,  when  nominated  one  of  the 
Prebendaries  of  St  Patrick's  Cathedral,  Dublin,  by  Archbishop  Whately  of  Dublin, 
ami  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  T.  G.  S.  Snther,  A.l>. 

'|  The  acts  of  munificence  and  public  spirit  which  Sir  "William  Forbes  rendered  to 
his  oonntn  and  to  society  arc  too  numerous  to  be  here  noticed,  and  properly  belong 
to  the  department  of  biography.  But  to  illustrate  the  allusion  in  the  text,  it  may 
be  stated,  that  after  1783,  the  year  be  laid  out  the  village  <>l*  New  Pitsligo,  am!  ren- 
dered ever)  a  ristance  :<>  the  fenars  by  lending  them  money,  and  ofU  a  allowing  them 
i"  jo  ini  free,  he  no1  only  built  an  Episcopal  chapel,  with  a  dweUing-hous<  For  the 


362  HISTORY  OF  THE 

one  ever  laboured  more  assiduously  to  promote  its  prosperity.  He  at- 
tended Baron  Smith's  Chapel  in  Blackfriars'  Wynd,  of  which  he  was 
one  of  the  Vestry,  with  the  esteemed  Sir  Adolphus  Oughton,  then  Com- 
mander-in-Chief in  Scotland.  In  1771,  when  it  was  resolved  to  join 
this  congregation  with  two  others  in  the  Old  Town  of  Edinburgh,  and 
erect  a  commodious  edifice  for  them  all,  the  labour  of  the  undertaking, 
as  in  many  other  cases,  devolved  on  Sir  William  Forbes,  and  by  his 
personal  exertions  the  Cowgate  Chapel  was  built — for  many  years  one  of 
the  most  popular  places  of  worship  in  the  Scottish  metropolis.  It  may 
be  curious  to  those  familiar  with  the  present  state  of  Edinburgh  to 
know,  that  when  the  new  chapel  was  projected  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  three  congregations,  it  was  proposed  to  build  it  at  the  end  of  the 
North  Bridge,  near  where  the  Theatre- Royal  now  stands,  but  after  ma- 
ture deliberation  this  was  relinquished,  as  it  was  "  not  thought  possible 
that  the  projected  New  Town  would  come  to  any  thing."  Sir  William 
Forbes  took  the  principal  lead  in  the  affairs  of  the  Cowgate  Chapel,  and 
when  a  vacancy  occurred  in  the  incumbency  in  1808,  he  was  chiefly  in- 
strumental in  bringing  to  it  the  Rev.  Archibald  Alison,  whom  he  had 
known  from  his  infancy,  and  who  was  then  officiating  at  a  remote  rectory 
in  Shropshire.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add,  that  under  the  influence  of 
that  distinguished  clergyman  the  congregation  rapidly  increased,  until 
at  length  they  were  enabled  by  their  own  exertions,  and  by  the  inde- 
fatigable efforts  of  Sir  William's  second  son,  the  Hon.  John  Hay  Forbes 
Lord  Medwyn,  a  Judge  and  a  Lord  Commissioner  of  Justiciary  in  Scot- 
land, to  erect  the  beautiful  and  capacious  Gothic  edifice  of  St  Paul's,  York 
Place,  in  1818.  At  that  very  period  Sir  William's  eldest  son  and  suc- 
cessor in  the  Baronetcy,  Sir  William  Forbes,  Bart.,  effected  by  similar 
exertions  the  erection  of  the  not  less  beautiful  Gothic  edifice  of  St  John 
the  Evangelist's  Chapel,  Prince's  Street.  Thus,  by  the  influence  of  two 
members  of  the  distinguished  family  of  Pitsligo,  Sir  William  Forbes  and 
his  second  son  Lord  Medwyn,  was  a  large  and  influential  portion  of  the 

clergyman,  but  he  also  erected  and  endowed  a  Presbyterian  chapel-of-ease  in  con- 
nection 'with  the  Establishment,  with  a  manse  for  the  minister,  and  a  schoolhouse,  in 
which  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  Christian  Knowledge  placed  a  schoolmaster. 
The  present  Episcopal  chapel  at  New  Pitsligo  is  an  elegant  little  Gothic  edifice, 
erected  in  1836  by  Sir  John  Stuart  Forbes,  Bart.,  the  grandson  of  Sir  William, 
from  a  design  by  Mr  John  Henderson,  architect,  Edinburgh. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUKCH.  363 

flock  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  raised  from  their  humble  lo- 
calities in  Blackfriars'  Wynd,  and  other  alleys  in  the  Old  Town,  first 
to  the  Cowgate  Chapel,  and  next  to  York  Place  ;  and,  in  conjunction 
with  St  John's  Chapel,  the  congregations  were  accommodated  in  two 
edifices,  the  ornaments  of  the  city,  raised  at  the  expense  of  above 
L. 30,000.  But  as  it  respects  the  union  of  the  English  clergy  with 
the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  from  which  the  above  details  are  a 
digression,  Sir  William  Forbes  was  most  earnest  in  his  endeavours 
to  accomplish  it,  and  he  had  much  correspondence  on  the  subject  with 
Archbishop  Moore  the  English  Primate,  Bishop  Porteus  of  London, 
Sir  William  Scott,  afterwards  Lord  Stowell  (brother  of  Lord  Chancellor 
Eldon),  and  many  other  persons  of  influence,  both  clerical  and  lay,  con- 
nected with  the  Church  of  England,  as  well  as  with  Bishop  Abernethy 
Drummond,  Bishop  Skinner,  and  others  in  Scotland.  He  succeeded  in 
a  great  degree  during  his  own  lifetime  in  effecting  the  object  he  had  at 
heart ;  and  his  death,  in  1806,  in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of  his  age,  pre- 
vented this  great  and  good  man  from  witnessing  other  events  equally 
gratifying,  if  his  valuable  life  had  been  spared  some  years  longer. 

Only  two  attempts  were  made  to  disturb  the  prosperity  of  the  Church 
occasioned  by  the  union.  The  one  was  by  the  Rev.  Alexander  Grant, 
D.D.,  who  styled  himself  "  Minister  of  the  English  Episcopal  Congre- 
gation in  Dundee,"  in  a  pamphlet  which  he  wrote  against  the  union, 
entitled,  "  An  Apology  for  continuing  in  the  Communion  of  the  Church 
of  England."  Dr  Grant  transmitted  a  copy  of  his  pamphlet  to  the 
Archbishops  and  Bishops  of  the  Church  of  England,  but  he  received 
only  one  reply,  and  this  was  from  Bishop  Horsley,  then  of  St  Asaph, 
which  silenced  him  in  that  quarter,  though  he  continued  all  his  life  in 
a  state  of  separation.  "  It  has  long  been  my  opinion,"  says  Bishop 
Horsley  to  Dr  Grant,  "  and  very  well  known  to  be  my  opinion,  that  the 
laity  in  Scotland,  if  they  understand  the  genuine  principles  of  Episco- 
pacy which  they  profess,  ought,  in  the  present  state  of  things,  to  resort 
to  the  ministry  of  their  indigenous  pastors  ;  and  the  clergymen  of  Eng- 
lish or  Irish  ordination,  without  uniting  with  the  Scottish  Bishops,  are, 
in  niv  judgment,  doing  nothing  better  than  keeping  alive  a  schism.  1 
find  nothing  in  jour  tract  to  alter  my  mind  <>n  these  points." 

The  other  opposition  waa  "l  ;i  more  serious  nature,  aa  it  caused  a  liti 


364  HISTORY  OF  THE 

gation  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  Scotland.  The  Rev.  Charles  Cordiner  of 
Banff,  who  had  been  ordained  deacon  by  Bishop  Newton  of  Bristol  in  1769, 
and  presbyter  in  1770  by  Bishop  Trail  of  Down  and  Connor  (strange  to 
say  in  the  town  of  Arbroath,  though  nothing  remarkable  when  that  Prelate's 
ecclesiastical  rise  is  considered),  adhered  to  the  Church  in  1792,  and 
the  Rev.  John  Skinner,  the  son  of  Bishop  Skinner,  and  author  of  the 
"Annals  of  Scottish  Episcopacy,''  at  that  time  pastor  of  the  other  chapel, 
became  Mr  Cordiner 's  colleague  in  St  Andrew's  Chapel,  which  accom- 
modated both  congregations.  Mr  Cordiner  died  two  years  afterwards  ; 
and  whatever  dissatisfaction  may  have  existed  among  a  few  of  the  united 
congregations  at  the  time,  it  appears  to  have  been  trivial  till  the  year  1805, 
when  a  gentleman  named  Cumming,  an  officer  of  the  Royal  Marines 
then  residing  in  Banff,  raised  an  action  in  the  Court  of  Session.  The 
case  was  ably  argued  in  favour  of  the  defenders  by  Robert  Dundas,  Esq. 
of  Arniston,  afterwards  Lord  Chief  Baron  of  the  Scottish  Exchequer, 
and  was  decided  against  Captain  Cumming  the  pursuer.  As  this  ac- 
tion is  not  reported  in  the  printed  series  of  cases  before  the  Court  of  Ses- 
sion, nothing  is  known  of  the  arguments  advanced  by  the  pursuer,  except 
what  is  contained  in  a  statement  drawn  up  by  the  defenders,*  and  laid  be- 
fore Bishop  Horsley  of  St  Asaph  and  other  friends  of  the  Church  in  Eng- 
land, requesting  their  assistance  in  the  expenses  they  had  incurred  of 
L.200,  though  they  were  successful  in  the  Court.  Captain  Cumming, 
it  appears  from  that  document,  contended,  that  "  the  coalition  of  the  two 
chapels  had  been  productive  of  an  abandonment  of  the  principles  in  sup- 
port of  which  the  English  chapel  had  been  erected,"  and  he  farther  ad- 
duced several  erroneous  and  unfounded  doctrinal  objections,  which  were 
incompetent  to  be  entertained  by  a  Court  of  Law.  Bishop  Horsley,  not- 
withstanding a  severe  family  bereavement  at  the  time,  sympathized 
with  the  united  congregation  of  St  Andrew's  Chapel,  and  collected  in 
subscriptions  L.189,  10s.,  in  addition  to  L.61,  15s.,  remitted  by  the  Bi- 
shops of  London,  Durham,  Winchester,  Worcestor,  Oxford,  Bangor, 
Salisbury,  Gloucester,  and  St  David's,  "through  other  hands,"  says 
his  Lordship  to  Bishop  Skinner,  "  before  my  application,  which  was  re- 
tarded by  the  dismal  circumstances  of  my  family."  The  sum  collected 
in  all  amounted  to  L.294,  5s.,  of  which  the  expenses  of  process  and  in- 

*   Inserted  in  "  Annals  of  Scottish  Episcopacy,"  p.  376,  379, 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  365 

cidents  were  L.270,  17s.,  leaving  a  balance  of  L.23,  8s.  ;  and  thus,  by  the 
generous  exertions  of  Bishop  Horsley,  which  were  cordially  met  by 
all  the  English  Bishops,  and  the  Archbishops  of  Armagh  and  Dublin, 
the  united  congregation  at  Banff  were  relieved  from  their  difficulties, 
and  they  expressed  their  gratitude  to  his  Lordship  in  a  neat  address 
transmitted  by  Bishop  Skinner. 

The  Diocese  of  Edinburgh  being  then  vacant,  and  the  ecclesiastical 
union  happily  effected,  Bishop  Skinner,  as  Primus,  issued  his  mandate 
to  the  clergy  at  the  end  of  1 805,  empowering  them  to  elect  a  Bishop. 
The  day  of  election  was  fixed  by  the  Dean  [Dr  Gleig]  for  the  15th  of 
January  1806,  and  Dr  Sandford  was  unanimously  chosen  their  Dio- 
cesan.    The  interest  which  Sir  William  Forbes  took  in  this  important 
matter  is  sufficiently  intimated  by  a  letter  to  Bishop  Skinner,  after  the 
election  was  declared  to  have  fallen  on  Dr  Sandford,  to  the  great  satisfac- 
tion of  all  connected  with  the  Church.    The  consecration  was  held  at  Dun- 
dee on  Sexagesima  Sunday,  the  9th  of  February  1806,  by  Bishops  Skin- 
ner, Watson,  and  Jolly,  in  Bishop  Strachan's  chapel.     The  sermon  was 
preached  by  Bishop  Sandford's  successor  in  the  episcopate,  Dr  Walker, 
and  was  published  at  the  request  of  the  Bishops  present.     At  the  con- 
clusion of  the  solemn  service,  Bishop  Skinner  delivered  an  eloquent  and 
affecting  address  to  Bishop  Sandford,  which  is  printed  in  the  valuable 
collection  of  documents,  the  "Annals  of  Scottish  Episcopacy."     The 
elevation  of  Bishop  Sandford  elicited  expressions  of  satisfaction  from  se- 
vt  ral  influential  friends  of  the  Church  in  England,- whose  letters  on  the 
subject  are  inserted  in  that  work.     The  following  observations,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  consecration  of  an  English  presbyter  on  this  occasion,  are  ap- 
propriately expressed  : — "  The  effects  of  Bishop  Sandford's  episcopate 
were  immediate,  and  they  have  been  progressive.     The  present  state  of 
the  branch  of  the  Church  over  which  lie  presided,  contrasted  with  its 
condition  when  he  accepted  its  charge,  is  perhaps  the  best  criterion  of 
his  usefulness.     Yet  in  England  his  appointment  was  regarded  in  some 
quarters  with  suspicion,  and  a  Prelate  of  the  English  Bench  [the  Bi- 
shop of  Bangor],  to  whom  Dr  Sandford  was  personally  known,  scrupled 
not  to  affirm  that  it  was  both  uneanonical  and  inexpedient.     The  eleva- 
tion of  an  English  presbyter  fcoan  episcopate  in  Scotland  it  was  thought 
would  lead  to  questions  of  greal  difficulty  and  delicacy ,  and  it  was  feared 
might  also  excite  lomejealonay  in  the  National  |  Presbyterian  |  Establish- 


366  HISTORY  OF  THE 

ment.  These  questions  of  difficulty,  however,  never  occurred,  and  the 
uniform  kindness  with  which  Bishop  Sandford  was  always  regarded  by 
the  Presbyterian  ministers  of  Edinburgh  proved  at  once  his  own  fitness 
for  the  station  he  filled,  and  their  superiority  to  the  sentiments  of  which 
they  were  suspected.  He  was  convinced  in  his  own  mind  of  the  pro- 
priety of  his  election  ;  and  in  the  correspondence  in  which  he  engaged 
on  this  subject,  whilst  he  rendered  the  respect  that  was  due  to  the  sta- 
tion and  ability  of  his  opponent,  he  never  compromised  his  own  opinion, 
or  relinquished  his  own  right."* 

Bishop  Sandford  held  his  first  confirmation  in  the  Cowgate  Chapel, 
and  it  is  thus  described  by  Sir  William  Forbes  in  a  letter  to  Bishop 
Skinner,  dated  April  5,  1806  : — "  I  must  say,  I  never  was  present  at  a 
more  solemn,  a  more  agreeable,  or  a  more  impressive  service.  It  could 
not  but  be  very  edifying  to  every  seriously  disposed  person  to  see  our 
chapel,  which  is  the  largest  in  this  country,  filled  with  a  numerous  con- 
gregation of  the  upper  ranks  of  life,  and  upwards  of  a  hundred  young 
persons  confirmed,  who  not  only  comported  themselves  with  the  ut- 
most decorum,  but  seemed,  as  well  as  many  of  their  parents,  to  be  very 
much  affected  with  the  ceremony,  and  who,  I  hope,  shall  be  the  better  for 
it  to  the  end  of  their  lives.  Three  of  my  own  young  people  were  of  the 
number,  the  older  part  of  my  family  having  been  confirmed  by  the  Bi- 
shop of  Man,  when  he  passed  through  Edinburgh  a  good  many  years 
ago.     But  hereafter,  thank  God,  we  shall  have  no  need  of  foreign  aid." 

The  exertions  of  Sir  William  Forbes,  in  behalf  of  the  Church  at  this 
period  were  manifested  in  a  more  tangible  manner.  He  well  knew  the 
poverty  and  depression  of  the  clergy,  especially  those  in  the  rural  dis- 
tricts. His  son-in-law,  the  late  esteemed  Colin  Mackenzie,  Esq.  of 
Portmore,  in  Peebles-shire,  prepared  a  plan  for  establishing  a  fund  in 
aid  of  the  Bishops  and  such  of  the  clergy  as  required  pecuniary  assist- 
ance to  increase  their  scanty  stipends.  Sir  William  Forbes  zealously 
approved  of  the  scheme,  and  drew  up  a  memoir  on  the  state  of  the 
Church,  which  was  circulated  in  1806,  and  produced  most  beneficial  re- 
sults. He  subscribed  L.400,  and  his  example  and  influence  were  of  es- 
sential importance.  This  "  Memoir"  was  "  respectfully  submitted  to 
the  consideration  of  the  nobility  and  gentry  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in 

*   Remains  of  Bishop  Sandford,  vol.  i.  p.  50,  51. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  367 

Scotland."*  The  subscription  was  of  a  strictly  private  nature,  and  no 
application  was  ever  thought  of  being  made  to  Government.  The  Com- 
mittee in  London,  to  further  the  object  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Fund, 
originally  consisted  of  Sir  James  Allan  Park,  Chairman,  the  Rev. 
Gerard  Andrews,  Dean  of  Canterbury,  the  Rev.  Dr  Gaskin,  the  Rev. 
Robert  Hodgson,  Rector  of  St  George's,  Hanover  Square,  William 
Stevens,  Esq.,  John  Bowdler,  Esq.,  and  Sir  John  Richardson.  Three 
of  those  gentlemen  belonged  to  the  Committee  for  procuring  the  repeal 
of  the  penal  statutes.  Mr  Stevens  was  the  first  English  subscriber 
of  the  sum  of  L.100.  The  support  of  this  Fund  was  among  the  last 
acts  of  Sir  William  Forbes  connected  with  the  Church.  He  closed 
his  valuable  life,  lamented  by  all  who  knew  him,  and  by  his  country- 
men at  large,  on  the  28th  of  June  180G,  supported  in  his  last  illness  by 
the  hopes  and  consolations  of  religion,  during  the  lingering  illness  which 
terminated  his  career  of  beneficence.  His  friend,  Mr  Stevens,  survived 
him  only  till  February  1807.  In  the  year  1806  also  died  the  illustrious 
Bishop  Horsley,  another  devoted  friend  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church, 
who  took  a  heartfelt  interest  in  its  affairs,  and  for  several  years  had  ex- 
erted himself  to  promote  its  welfare. 

In  1807  the  Rev.  John  Skinner  of  Longside,  the  revered  father  of 
Bishop  Skinner,  was  also  removed  by  death.  Some  particulars  are  al- 
ready stated  of  this  distinguished,  learned,  and  truly  upright  presby- 
ter. He  had  been  for  upwards  of  sixty-four  years  pastor  of  the  congre- 
gation at  Longside,  in  Aberdeenshire,  and  his  residence  was  the  small 
cottage  at  Linshart  in  the  vicinity.  It  is  previously  noticed  that  he  bore 
his  full  share  of  the  severities  inflicted  on  the  Episcopal  clergy  after  the 
suppression  of  the  Enterprise  of  1745,  and  his  chapel  was  one  of  those 
burnt  by  the  soldiers  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland.  Although  no  parti- 
zan  of  the  Stuart  Family,  lie  was  committed  to  prison  by  the  Go- 
vernment for  having  officiated  to  more  than  four  persons.  In  17(.»!> 
Mr  Skinner  sustained  a  heavy  loss  in  the  death  of  Mrs  Skinner, 
who  had  been  his  affectionate  partner  for  fifty-eight  years.  He  rc- 
oerded  bil  grief  at  that  severe  bereavement,  and  the  attachment 
which  he  oheriahed  to  her  memory  and  her  many  virtues,  in  some 
beautiful  and  affecting  Latin  rerses,  expressive  of  the  desolation  which 

•  I ii sort. d  in  Appendix,  No.  VI.  of  *  Annals  of  Soottish  Episoopaey,"  p.  <> 


368  history  of  the 

had  overtaken  him  by  her  death.  In  1807  Bishop  Skinner  was  also 
bereaved  in  a  similar  manner,  and  it  was  now  resolved  that  the  ve- 
nerable pastor  of  Longside  should  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days 
with  his  son  the  Primus  in  Aberdeen  On  the  4th  of  June  1807  he 
bade  farewell  to  his  primitive  cottage  at  Linshart,  and  when  he  arrived 
at  Aberdeen  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  meeting  his  grandson,  the  late 
Rev.  John  Skinner  of  Forfar,  and  others  of  his  descendants,  in  unison 
with  his  own  wish  "  to  see  once  more  his  children's  grandchildren,  and 
peace  upon  Israel."  The  sorrow  evinced  by  his  flock  at  Longside  at 
their  final  separation  may  be  easily  conceived.  After  his  arrival  at 
Aberdeen  he  was  for  ten  days  in  his  usual  health,  taking  a  lively  inter- 
est in  ordinary  conversation,  and  often  relating  stories  and  anecdotes  of 
men  and  things  connected  with  a  past  generation.  On  the  twelfth  day 
after  his  arrival,  however,  he  became  ill  when  at  dinner,  and  almost 
immediately  expired,  in  the  eighty-sixth  year  of  his  age.  This  vene- 
rable pastor  was  interred  in  the  churchyard  of  Longside,  where  his 
congregation  erected  a  monument  to  his  memory,  and  an  elegant  marble 
tablet  records  his  talents,  acquirements,  and  virtues.  Mr  Skinner's 
first  publication  was  a  pamphlet,  in  1746,  entitled,  "  A  Preservative 
against  Presbytery,"  to  animate  the  minds  of  his  flock,  who  thought 
they  saw  in  the  severities  inflicted  by  the  Government  on  the  Episco 
pal  clergy  the  total  extirpation  of  the  succession.  In  1757  he  pub- 
lished in  London  a  learned  "  Dissertation  on  Job's  Prophecy,"  which  re- 
ceived the  high  approbation  of  Bishop  Sherlock  ;  and  in  1767  he  vindi- 
cated, in  a  pamphlet,  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  from  the  aspersions 
of  the  Rev.  Norman  Sievewright,  minister  of  the  "  English"  congrega- 
tion at  Brechin,  which  Dr  Brown  of  Langton  would  have  done  well  to 
have  diligently  perused  before  he  quoted  the  same  Mr  Sievewright  as  an 
authority,  in  his  "  Letters"  on  what  he  calls  "  Puseyite  Episcopacy," 
addressed  to  Dr  Pusey  of  Oxford.  Mr  Skinner's  varied  and  profound 
biblical  and  theological  acquirements  are  farther  evinced  in  his  various 
works,  collected  in  two  volumes,  and  published  by  his  family.  He  was 
one  of  the  best  Classical  and  Hebrew  scholars  of  his  age.  In  1788  ap- 
peared his  "  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scotland,"  in  two  volumes — a 
work  now  extremely  scarce — in  a  series  of  letters,  in  which  he  gives  a 
luminous  account  of  the  affairs  of  the  Episcopal  Church  from  the  Re- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  369 

formation,  till  its  ministers  consented,  at  the  death  of  Prince  Charles 
Edward,  to  acknowledge  the  reigning  dynasty.  This  work  is  dedicated 
in  elegant  Latin — "  Ad  F ilium  et  Episcopum" — to  his  son  and  Bishop, 
the  Primus.  The  livelier  graces  of  his  genius  are  displayed  in  those  de- 
lightful contributions  to  Scottish  song  which  have  procured  for  him  a 
high  place  among  the  true  poets  of  his  native  land.  His  memory,  his 
learning,  and  his  many  virtues,  will  long  be  cherished  by  the  members  of 
the  Church  which  his  name  and  descendants  have  adorned. 

In  1808  died  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Watson,  in  the  forty-seventh  year 
of  his  age.  He  was  removed  in  1791  from  the  charge  of  the  congregation  in 
Banff  to  the  chapel  at  the  village  of  Laurencekirk,  on  the  nomination  of 
Francis  Garden,  Esq.,  a  Judge  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  Scotland  by  the 
title  of  Lord  Gardenstone.  This  patriotic  gentleman,  though  a  Presby- 
terian, built  and  endowed  the  Episcopal  chapel  in  the  village,  which,  pre- 
vious to  17G2,  when  he  purchased  the  estate  of  Johnstone,  consisted  only 
of  a  few  houses,  but  subsequently  by  his  Lordship's  exertions  extended  so 
rapidly,  that  before  his  death,  in  1793,  it  had  attained  a  degree  of  import- 
ance and  prosperity  which  far  exceeded  his  most  sanguine  expectations. 
Lord  Gardenstone  endowed  the  Episcopal  chapel  of  his  village  with 
L.40  per  annum,  forty  bolls  of  oatmeal,  a  parsonage-house,  garden,  and 
three  acres  of  the  best  land  in  the  vicinity.  Bishop  Watson  was  the  first  in- 
cumbent, but  small  as  his  income  was,  he  had  to  encounter  about  the  time 
of  his  death  an  action  in  the  Court  of  Session,  to  ascertain  whether 
Lord  Gardenstone's  deed  of  endowment  was  so  technically  and  legally 
correct,  as  to  constitute  the  stipend  and  other  emoluments  of  the  Epis- 
copal incumbent  a  permanent  burden  on  the  estate  of  Johnstone  in  the 
county  of  Kincardine.  This  action  was  rendered  necessary,  because 
the  new  proprietor  to  whom  Lord  Gardenstone's  heir  sold  the  lands,  of 
which  the  village  of  Laurencekirk  forms  a  part,  refused  to  pay  the  stipend 
and  other  endowments  after  his  Lordship's  decease,  unless  Bishop 
Watson  granted  receipts  so  expressed  that  the  payments  were  in  noway 
to  bo  considered  as  precluding  the  proprietor  of  the  said  lands  of 
Johnstone  from  challenging  the  rights  of  the  Episcopal  incumbents. 
The  Court  found,  though  the  decision  was  not  given  till  after  Bishop 
Watson'i  death,  that  Lord  Gardenstone's  deed  of  endowment  was  valid, 
and  could  not  be  sei  aside.     "  Although  cut  off  in  the  prime  of  life." 

ft  the  lu  v.  John  Skinner.  '•  y«  t  did  Bishop  Watson's  death  proceed 
from  a1-  complete  prostration  of  strength,  and  as  mucb  from  bodily  im- 

2  A 


370  HISTORY  OF  THE 

becility,  as  if  he  had  reached  that  period  of  human  life  when  all  is  la- 
bour and  sorrow.  The  Bishop  was  a  native  of  Banffshire,  and,  like 
most  of  his  contemporaries  of  the  diocese  of  Aberdeen,  had  been  trained 
to  the  ministry  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  by  the  venerable  pastor 
of  Longside,  the  father  of  his  friend  and  patron  Bishop  Skinner.  His 
classical  and  theological  attainments  did  honour  to  his  master,  and 
showed  that  he  himself  was  a  diligent  and  successful  student.  Though 
raised  to  the  episcopate  in  earlier  life  than  usual,  this  excellent  man's 
deportment  was  marked  by  something  so  decorous  in  society,  and  by  a 
mien,  a  voice,  and  manner  so  attractive  in  the  immediate  discharge  of 
his  sacred  office,  as  to  command  the  respect  of  all  who  knew  him,  or 
who  witnessed  the  performance  of  his  duties  ;  and  as  lie  lived  universally 
esteemed,  he  died  universally  regretted." 

The  death  of  Bishop  Watson  rendered  vacant  the  diocese  of  Dunkeld, 
and  the  clergy,  having  duly  received  their  mandate,  met  at  the  village 
of  Alyth  to  elect  his  successor.  Two  presbyters  were  nominated,  the 
Rev.  Dr  Gleig  of  Stirling,  and  the  Rev.  Patrick  Torry  of  Peterhead. 
Dr  Gleig  recommended  the  clergy  to  make  the  election  unanimous  in 
favour  of  the  latter,  which  was  accordingly  done,  and  approved  by  the 
Episcopal  College.  Bishop  Torry  was  consecrated  at  Aberdeen  on  the 
12th  of  October  1808,  by  Bishops  Skinner,  Macfarlane,  and  Jolly. 

The  advanced  age  of  Bishop  Strachan  induced  the  clergy  of  the  dio- 
cese of  Brechin  to  apply  to  Bishop  Skinner  for  a  mandate  to  elect  a  co- 
adjutor and  successor.  This  was  granted,  and  the  presbyters  met  at 
Montrose  on  the  27th  of  September  1808,  when  they  unanimously  elected 
the  Rev.  Dr  Gleig  of  Stirling.  After  some  correspondence  between 
Bishop  Skinner  and  Dr  Gleig  respecting  the  Scottish  Communion  Office, 
the  latter  was  consecrated  in  St  Andrew's  Chapel,  Aberdeen,  on  the 
30th  of  October  1808,  by  Bishops  Skinner,  Jolly,  and  Torry.  The 
sermon  on  this  occasion  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Heneage  Horsley, 
M.A.,  son  of  the  distinguished  Bishop  Horsley,  and  afterwards  published 
at  the  request  of  the  Episcopal  College. 

Bishop  Strachan  died  in  1810,  and  Bishop  Abernethy  Drummond  on 
the  previous  year,  each  nearly  ninety  years  of  age.  They  were  both 
consecrated  on  the  same  day  in  1787,  the  one  as  coadjutor  to  the  other, 
but  Bishop  Abernethy  Drummond  was  soon  afterwards  elected  by  the 
presbyters  of  Edinburgh,  in  which  city  was  his  pastoral  charge,  to  be 
their  diocesan.     We  have  seen  that  he  resigned  Edinburgh  in  favour  of 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  371 

Dr  Sandford  in  18(Jo,  when  he  superintended  the  affairs  of  the  diocese 
of  Glasgow,  the  pastoral  connection  with  the  clergy  of  which  he  retained 
to  his  death.     It  is  said  that  Bishop  Abernethy  Drummond  paid  his  re- 
spects to  Prince  Charles  Edward  in  Holjroodhouse,  which  was  subse- 
quently to  him  the  source  of  much  annoyance  and  danger.     He  wrote 
numerous  small  tracts,  and  zealously  embarked  in  theological  contro- 
versies both  with  Protestants  and  Roman  Catholics,  among  the  former 
having  an  occasional  feud  with  the  late  Sir  Henry  Moncreiff,  Bart.,  a 
distinguished  minister  of  the  Presbyterian  Establishment  in  Edinburgh  ; 
and  among  the  latter  with  the  late  Bishop  Hay,  who  had  left  the  Scot- 
tish Episcopal  Church  for  that  of  Rome,  and  who  was  in  consequence 
often  reminded  of  his  apostacy  by  his  antagonist.     It  is  said  of  Bishop 
Abernethy  Drummond,  that  "  his  intemperate  manner  defeated  in  most 
cases  the  benevolence  of  his  intentions,  and  only  irritated  those  whom 
he  had  wished  to  convince."*     The   Bishop,  who  was  connected  with 
the  familv  of  Abernethy  of  Saltoun   in   Banffshire,  and  was  the  son  of 
John  Abernethy,  Esq.  of  Corskie,  assumed  the  surname  of  Drummond 
when  he  married  Barbara,  only  daughter  and  heiress  of  William  Drum- 
mond, Esq.  of  Hawthornden,  the  lineal  descendant  of  the  celebrated 
Poet.     This  interesting  mansion,  the  "  Classic  Hawthornden,"  as  it  is 
termed  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  on  the  romantic  banks  of  the  North  Esk, 
upwards  of  seven  miles  from   Edinburgh,  is  still  the  property  of  the 
Bishop's  collateral  relatives.     His  sister  married  Robert  Forbes,  Esq. 
of  Corse,  a  gentleman  who  represented  an   ancient  and  distinguished 
familv  in  the  county  of  Aberdeen.!     Their  son  John  Forbes,  Esq.,  R.X., 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  DrOgilvie,  heiress,  by  special  settlement,  of 
Mrs  Abernethy  Drummond  her  cousin,  and  assumed  the  surname  of 
Drummond.     He  iras  created  a  Baronet  of  Great  Britain  in  1828,  with 
remainder  to  the  husband  of  his  only  surviving  child,  who  married 
Francis  Walker,    Esq.  of  Dairy,  near   Edinburgh,  connected  with  the 
Noble  families  of  Lauderdale  and  Tweeddale  in  the  Peerage  of  Scotland, 
who  succeeded  to  the  Baronetoj  as  sir  Francis  Walker  Drummond  at 
the  decease  of  his  father  in-law  in  L829. 

•   Bishop  Etnssella  Appendix  to  Keith's  Catalogue  of  the  Scottish  Bishops,  p.  545. 

f  The  names  of  Patrick  Forbes,  consecrated  Bishop  of  Aberdeen  in  1618,  the 
Ijreai  ornament  ofths  Soottish  Church  in  liis  time,  and  «>*'  his  ion,  the  Roy.  John 
I  rb  .  D.D.,  Professor  of  DiyfaHj  in  King's  College,  Aberdeen,  will  always  be  held 
in  feneration  bj  those  wli<>  appreciate  profound  theological  learninj 


372  HISTORY  OF  THE 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

SYNOD  OF  ABERDEEN  IN    1811 THE    CANONS    FOR    THE    DISCIPLINE    OF    THE 

SCOTTISH     EPISCOPAL     CHURCH    RATIFIED — DEATH     AND     CHARACTER    OF 
BISHOP  SKINNER  OF  ABERDEEN. 


After  the  repeal  of  the  Penal  Laws  the  Bishops  and  clergy  of  the  Scot- 
tish Episcopal  Church  embraced  every  opportunity  of  presenting  con- 
gratulatory and  other  addresses  to  the  Throne,  and  in  1809  they  were 
conspicuous  among  those  who  evinced  their  loyalty  when  his  Majesty 
George  III.  entered  on  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  reign.  Their  address 
on  this  occasion  was  transmitted  to  the  Earl  of  Liverpool,  at  the  time 
Secretary  of  State  for  the  Home  Department,  but  presented  by  his 
Lordship's  successor,  the  Right  Hon.  Richard  Ryder,  second  son  of 
the  first  Lord  Harrowby,  and  brother  of  the  Right  Rev.  Henry  Ryder, 
D.D.,  Lord  Bishop  of  Lichfield  and  Coventry.  The  "jubilee  year"  of 
the  sovereign  was  also  duly  observed  by  the  Bishops  and  clergy,  in  obe- 
dience to  an  order  issued  by  the  Privy  Council  on  the  27th  of  Septem- 
ber, and  public  prayers  and  thanksgivings  were  offered  for  the  Divine 
protection  vouchsafed  to  his  Majesty  during  his  long,  arduous,  and  aus- 
picious reign.  This  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  order  issued  by  the 
Privy  Council,  which  has  since  been  duly  followed,  of  distinguishing  the 
Bishops  and  clergy  from  the  Scottish  Dissenters,  in  directing  prayers 
and  thanksgivings  on  public  occasions. 

In  1810  no  event  of  any  general  interest  occurred  in  the  history  of 
the  Church.  Various  minor  affairs  induced  Bishop  Skinner  and  his 
brethren  of  the  Episcopal  College  to  summon  the  Synod  held  at  Aber- 
deen in  1811  ;   in  which  the  Code  of  Canons  for  the  regulation  of  the 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  373 

Church  was  solemnly  ratified.     The  necessity  of  convening  this  Synod 
is  thus  stated  by  Bishop  Skinner  in  a  letter  to  Bishop  Sandford,  dated 
February  22,  1811  : — "  At  an  early  period  of  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  an 
attempt  was  made  to  give  the  Church  of  Scotland  a  set  of  Canons  and 
Constitutions,  similar  to  those  which  had  been  drawn  up  and  sanctioned 
in  the  preceding  reign  for  the  Church  of  England.     But  that  feeble  at- 
tempt, as  well  as  the  introduction  of  a  Liturgy,  was  completely  frustrated 
by  the  disastrous  fate  of  Charles,  and  even  the  restoration  of  his  son  did 
not  much  mend  the  matter,  as,  during  the  whole  of  his  reign  and  the 
short  period  of  his  brother's,  the  attention  of  the  Government  seems  to 
have  been  wholly  taken  up  with  making  provision  for  the  outward  peace  of 
the  kingdom,  rather  than  for  the  internal  order  and  unity  of  the  Church. 
At  last  the  Revolution  gave  a  final  blow  to  the  legal  established  Episco- 
pacy of  Scotland,  and  for  several  years  after  that  era  our  Bishops  had 
enough  to  do  in  keeping  up  a  pure  episcopal  succession,  till  it  should  be 
seen  what,  in  the  course  of  Providence,  might  be  farther  effected  towards 
the  preservation,  though  not  of  an  established,  yet  of  a  purely  primitive 
Church  in  this  part  of  the  United  Kingdom.     For  this  purpose  a  few 
Canons  were  drawn  up  and  sanctioned  in  1743,  which,  though  very  well 
calculated  to  answer  the  purposes  for  which  they  were  intended,  are  yet 
far  from  exhibiting  any  thing  like  a  complete  code  of  ecclesiastical  dis  - 
cipline  even  for  our  small  society.     The  English  Canons  are  in  general 
inapplicable  to  our  situation,  and  of  the  whole,  one  hundred  and  forty- 
one  in  number,  there  are  not  above  four  or  five  that  could  even  with 
some  alterations  be  adopted  and  enforced  among  us.     It  is  surely  time, 
therefore,  now  that  we*  are  fully  tolerated,  but  without  the  smallest  pro- 
spect of  ever  being  more  than  tolerated,  that  we  should  turn  our  atten- 
tion to  the  means  which  Providence  has  put  in  our  power  of  making  the 
best  of  our  situation,  and  rendering  it  as  conducive  as  we  possibly  can, 
to  the  great  and  good  design  for  which  our  Church  has  been  so  happily 
preserved — so  signally  supported — even  the  glory  of  its  Almighty  Pro- 
tector, and  the  comfort  and  edification  of  his  faithful  people." 

The  suggestion  of  Bishop  Skinner  was  readily  sanctioned  by  his  right 
reverend  colleagues,  and  after  it  was  decided  that  the  Synod  should 
consist  <>f  a  certain  number  of  delegates  from  the  dioceses  instead  of  the 
whole  body  of  the  clergy,  it  was  summoned  to  meet  on  the  19th  of  June. 
On  thai  day  all  the  Bishops  assembled  at  Aberdeen   with  the  Deans  of 


374  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Edinburgh,  Aberdeen,  Brechin,  and  Dunkeld,  those  of  Ross  and  Moray 
being  absent  by  indisposition.  The  delegates  from  the  respective  dio- 
ceses were  the  Rev.  Archibald  Alison  for  Edinburgh,  the  Rev.  John 
Cruickshank  of  Turriff  for  Aberdeen,  the  Rev.  Heneage  Horsley  of 
Dundee  for  Brechin,  and  the  Rev.  John  Skinner  of  Forfar  for  Dunkeld. 
The  Synod  was  duly  constituted  by  Bishop  Skinner  as  Primus,  and  the 
presbyters,  consisting  of  the  Deans  and  Delegates,  withdrew  to  their 
chamber,  where  they  prepared  the  following  minute  : — "  At  Aberdeen, 
this  19th  day  of  June  1811  years,  the  Deans  and  representatives  of  the 
several  dioceses  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland  having  met  in  a 
separate  chamber  by  the  authority  of  the  Right  Reverend  the  Bishops 
of  the  said  Church,  did  then  and  there  unanimously  elect  the  Very  Re- 
verend James  Walker,  Dean  of  the  Diocese  of  Edinburgh,*  as  their 
prolocutor,  and  the  Rev.  William  Skinner  of  Aberdeen,  as  their  clerk,  t 
Before  the  Deans  and  representatives  retired  to  their  separate  chamber, 
they  heard  the  Primus  deliberately  read  the  introduction  or  preamble, 
proposed  for  the  Code  of  Ecclesiastical  Laws,  to  be  determined  upon 
and  enacted  in  the  present  Synod  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  of 
the  general  tenor  of  which  they  instruct  their  prolocutor  to  state  to  the 
chamber  of  Bishops  that  they  do  unanimously  approve."  The  Synod  con- 
tinued two  days,  and  the  Code  of  Canons  was  framed  which  is  more 
particularly  noticed  in  the  sequel,  and  which  are  now  binding  on  all  the 
clergy,  as  revised  and  ratified  by  the  Synod  of  Laurencekirk  in  1838, 
and  those  of  Edinburgh  in  1829  and  1838.  The  Canons  refer  of  course 
to  the  discipline  and  government  of  the  Church,  and  are  framed  to  pre- 
serve order  and  regularity  in  a  communion  unconnected  with  the  State 
as  it  respects  temporal  endowments.  As  a  proof  of  the  strict  adherence 
maintained  towards  the  doctrines  and  ritual  of  the  Church  of  England, 
the  Sixteenth  Canon  expressly  prohibits  any  alterations  or  insertions  in 
the  Morning  and  Evening  Service  of  the  Liturgy,  and  no  deviation  from 
the  ipsissima  verba  is  allowed.  The  Fifteenth  Canon,  however,  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  Rev.  Mr  Skinner  of  Forfar,  was  proposed  by  the  Rev. 
Archibald  Alison  of  Edinburgh  and  the  Rev.  Heneage  Horsley  of  Dun- 
dee, sets  forth,  that  although  permission  is  granted  "  to  retain  the  use 

*    Afterwards  the  successor  of  Dr  Sandford  as  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  and  of  Bishop 
Gleig  as  Primus. 

f   The  successor  of  his  distinguished  father  as  Bishop  of  Aberdeen. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUKCH.  375 

of  the  English  Communion  Office  in  all  congregations  where  the  said 
Office  hath  been  previously  in  use,  the  Scottish  Office  is  considered  as 
the  authorised  service  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  the  administration  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,"  and  is  "  to  be  used  in  all  consecrations  of  Bishops," 
every  Bishop,  when  consecrated,  "giving  his  full  assent  to  it,  as  being 
sound  in  itself,  and  of  primary  authority  in  Scotland,"  and  binding 
himself  "  not  to  permit  its  being  laid  aside,  where  now  used,  but  by  au- 
thority of  the  College  of  Bishops."* 

After  the  business  of  the  Synod  was  completed,  a  circular  was  ad- 
dressed by  Bishop  Skinner  to  all  the  Archbishops  and  Bishops  of  the 
United  Church  of  England  and  Ireland,  enclosing  a  copy  of  the  Canons. 
Most  of  the  Bishops  acknowledged  Bishop   Skinner's  circular  in  the 
kindest  and  most  fraternal  manner,  especially  those  of  Salisbury,  Peter- 
borough, Carlisle,    Sodor   and   Man,  Cork    and   Ross,    Leighlin    and 
Ferns,  and   Cloyne.     Dr  Bennet,    the  last   mentioned   Prelate,  after 
thanking  Bishop  Skinner  and  the  other  Bishops  for  the  copy  of  the 
Canons,  adds—"  I  have  always  highly  esteemed  the  Christian  piety  and 
honourable  independence  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland,  and  ear- 
nestly pray  that,  under  the  guidance  of  her  excellent  Prelates,  she  may 
continue  that  purity  of  doctrine  for  which  she  has  been  so  long  and  so 
deservedly  celebrated."     The  services  of  Bishop  Skinner  at  the  Synod 
of  Aberdeen  is  thus  expressed  in  a  letter  from  Bishop  Walker  to  the 
Rev.   John  Skinner  of  Forfar  : — "  I  need  not  remind  you  of  the  very 
important  Synod  held  at  Aberdeen  in  1811,  of  which  you  were  a  mem- 
ber.    I  recollect  that  period  with  serious  satisfaction,  and  I  know  that 
your  father's  conduct  on  that  occasion  made  a  deep  impression  on  those 
clergy  who  previously  knew  him  very  partially,   and  only  by  hearsay. 
II is  kind  and  easy  hospitality  as  our  landlord,  the  ability  and  accuracy 
with  which  he  prepared  the  matter  of  our  deliberations,   his  impartial 
conduct  as  president  of  our  asa  mbly,   and  the  readiness  with  which  he 
yielded  those  points  which  we  from  the  South  thought  most  necessary 
for  genera]  conciliation,  stand  strongly  in  my  recollection,  and  are  cer- 
tainly worthy  of  special  consideration  in  the  estimate  of  your  fathers 
character."     It  u  apparent  to  every  one  who  investigates  the  history  of 
Scottish  Episcopacy,  that  the  Church  ie  under  the  deepest  obligations 

*    Aimal.-.  "i  Scottish  Episcopacy,  p.  516,  $17. 


376  HISTORY  OF  THE 

to  Bishop  Skinner.  His  persevering  exertions,  patient  assiduity,  and 
zealous  superintendence  of  its  affairs,  are  conspicuous  throughout  his 
whole  important  episcopate,  and  his  name  must  ever  be  honoured  with 
respect  and  veneration. 

At  and  after  this  period  the  Church  was  annually  increasing  in  num- 
bers. Several  new  congregations  were  formed,  and  elegant  edifices 
erected  for  divine  service  in  the  large  towns  by  the  exertions  of  the  laity, 
aided  by  subscriptions  and  donations  from  distinguished  and  benevolent 
friends  in  England.  These  chapels  present  a  striking  contrast  to  the 
obscure  and  uncomfortable  structures  in  which  many  of  the  congrega- 
tions had  assembled  after  the  prosecutions  of  1745. 

In  1814,  the  Rev.  Martin  J.  Routh,  D.D.,  the  learned  and  venerable 
President  of  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  published  and  dedicated  to  the 
Scottish  Bishops  and  clergy  his  "  Reliquiae  Sacrse,  sive  Auctorum  fere 
jam  perditorum  Secundi  Tertiique  Sseculi  Fragmenta  quae  supersunt : 
accedunt  Epistola3  Synodicse  et  Canonicse  Nicseno  Concilia  Anti- 
quiores."*— "  Nor  does  the  learned  author,"  says  Mr  Skinner  of  Forfar, 
"  omit  his  reasons  for  singling  out  the  Bishops  and  clergy  of  the  Scot- 
tish Episcopal  Church,  personally  unknown  to  him,  as  the  objects  of 
such  veneration  and  regard.  To  the  inscription,  and  in  Latin  of  the  most 
classical  purity,  an  address  is  annexed,  in  which  he  tells  them  that 
'  enjoying,  as  they  do  enjoy,  the  praise  of  maintaining  the  manner  of 
Christian  antiquity  joined  to  the  Catholic  faith  and  to  the  discipline  of 
the  Apostles,'  he,  the  author,  did  on  this  account  present  them  with 
'  aurea  hcec  Primorum  Sceculorum  scripta,'  literally,  these  golden  produc- 
tions of  the  First  Ages  ; — that,  '  though  fragments  merely,  and  picked  up 
from  a  general  shipwreck,  the  memorials  only  of  what  the  Church  was 
in  her  then  depressed  and  humble  state,  he  yet  considers  them  the  more 
fit  to  be  presented  to  those  whose  lot  it  is  to  be  placed  even  in  less  pros- 
perous circumstances  than  was  the  Primitive  Church  itself;' — that, 
'  though  he  laments  to  see  the  Scottish  Bishops  and  clergy  deprived  of 
civil  establishment,  secular  dignities  and  honours,  this  deprivation  in 
his  opinion  affords  not  subject  of  regret  equal  to  that  which  afflicts  the 

*  The  dedication  of  this  interesting  collection  is — u  Patribus  in  Christo  admodum 
Reverendis,  Virisque  Optimis  et  Venerabilibus  Episcopis  et  Presbyteris  Ecclesiae 
Scoticje  Episcopalis,  Doctis,  Piis,  Orthodoxis,  Martinus  Josephus  Routh  Paternitati 
Dignationique  eorura  D.D.D." 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUltCH.  377 

mind  versed  in  Christian  antiquity,  when  it  beholds  a  people  of  such 
renown  as  the  people  of  Scotland,  and  withal  so  justly  famed  for  the  re- 
pect  which  they  show  to  religion,  torn  from  their  pristine  Hierarchy, 
and  placed  in  a  state  of  schism  from  Episcopal  communion  ;' —  that  still 
'  it  is  to  himself  matter  of  joy  unspeakable  to  have  it  in  his  power  to 
congratulate  his  Episcopal  brethren  in  Scotland  on  possessing  the  privi- 
lege, which  of  right  belongs  to  all  mankind,  of  exercising  their  ministry 
in  peace  ;  which  privilege,  as  it  can  never  be  violated  but  by  acts  of 
heinous  atrocity,  he  trusts,  now  that  our  country  has  emerged  from  the 
agitating  waves  of  civil  discord,  will  be  rendered  to  the  Scottish  Episco- 
palians both  stable  and  permanent  ;' — and  that '  he  remembers  well  with 
what  patriotic  fidelity  and  devotion  they  conducted  themselves  in  the 
hour  of  trial,  never  allowing  their  tempers  to  be  ruffled  by  reason  of  the 
neglect  cast  upon  their  humble  petitions  for  relief  from  penal  statutes, 
or  by  reason  of  the  very  precarious  footing  on  which  they  were  at  one 
time  permitted  to  minister  in  holy  things.'  " 

Nothing  of  importance  occurred  in  the  history  of  the  Church  till  181G, 
the  year  in  which  died  the  excellent  Primus,  Bishop  Skinner.  This  de- 
privation was  a  very  severe  loss  to  the  Church.  The  public  life  of  this 
unwearied  and  indefatigable  man  is  completely  associated  with  the  Com- 
munion over  which  he  long  worthily  and  honourably  presided,  and  he 
had  the  satisfaction,  under  Divine  Providence,  of  conducting  the  affairs 
of  the  Church  to  the  peace  and  prosperity  in  which  they  were  at  his  la- 
mented death.  He  presided  at  a  period  when  both  the  clergy  and  laity 
were  subjected  to  various  penalties  and  political  disabilities,  which, 
though  not  enforced  by  the  Government  when  he  was  invested  with  the 
episcopate,  were  still  in  the  statute-book.  These  tended  to  keep  many 
congregations  whose  clergy  were  of  English  or  Irish  ordination  in  a 
state  of  BChismatical  separation,  and  who,  as  they  considered,  could  not, 
consistently  with  the  oaths  they  had  taken  at  their  ordination,  submit  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Scottish  Bishops.  Bishop  Skinner  had  the  hap 
pinesfl  of  seeing  two  great  measures  accomplished  in  which  ho  had  been 
most  actively  engaged — tho  repeal  of  the  Penal  Laws,  and  the  snb-e- 
quent  union  of  most  of  the  ESnglish  with  the  indigenous  olergj.  The 
other  great  M ir?icei  he  rendered  to  the  Church  by  his  theological  work- 
are  previouslj  noticed. 

Bishop  Skinner  WBfl  the  BCCOnd  BOD  of  the  venerable    pastor  of    Loi 


378  HISTORY  OF  THE 

side,  and  was  bom  on  the  17th  May  1744.     He  was  educated  at  Maris- 
chal  College,  Aberdeen,  and  was  early  admitted  into  holy  orders  by  Bishop 
Gerard  of  that  Diocese.     His  first  charge,  as  already  mentioned,  was  that 
of  Ellon,  a  village  and  parish  in  the  county  on  the  Ythan  seventeen  miles 
distant  from  Aberdeen  and  Peterhead.  The  pastoral  charge  of  Ellon  then 
consisted  of  two  congregations,  one  in  the  village,  and  the  other  about  six- 
teen miles  distant,  to  both  of  which  he  officiated  regularly  several  years 
during  Sundays  in  summer.  The  emoluments  he  received  from  his  united 
charge  generally  varied  to  from  L.25  to  L.30  per  annum!   For  eleven 
years  he  discharged  the  pastoral  duties  of  Ellon,  till  1775,  when  he  was 
removed  to  Aberdeen  by  the  unanimous  invitation  of  Bishop  Kilgour 
and  the  people  as  successor  to  the  Rev.  William  Smith.     When  Bishop 
Skinner  was  first  removed  to  Aberdeen  his  congregation  was  small,  but 
additional  accommodation  was  soon  required.   After  the  repeal  of  the  Pe- 
nal Laws  another  chapel  was  erected  by  subscription  in  1795.     In  this 
structure  the  Bishop  officiated  twenty  years,  until  finding  it  too  limited 
for  the  congregation,    "  the  public-spirited  members  of  his  flock,"  says 
Mr  Skinner,  "  urged  him  not  many  months  before  his  death  to  set  about 
erecting,  in  the  spacious  street  which  forms  the  north  entry  to  the 
city  of  Aberdeen,   a  truly  magnificent  structure,  capable  of  contain- 
ing no  fewer  than  1 100  persons,  and  fitted  up  in  a  manner  more  ap- 
propriate and  church-like  than  any  edifice  of  the  kind  north  of  the 
Forth."     Bishop  Skinner,  however,  was  not  spared  to  see  the  comple- 
tion of  this  fine  edifice.     He  had  been  overtaken  by  severe  illness  in 
1814,  from  which  he  so  far  recovered  as  to  be  able  to  resume  his  labours, 
and  he  terminated  his  honourable  career  on  the  13th  of  July  1816,  in 
the  seventy-second  year  of  his  age.     "  So  short,"  says  Mr  Skinner, 
"was  his  confinement  at  last,  that  the  very  forenoon  on  which  he  died 
he  was  in  his  dining-room,  and  on  Friday,  the  day  preceding,  at  prayers 
in  the  chapel."     At  this  period  his  former  flock  at  Ellon  were  united 
in  a  commodious  chapel,  which  he  intended  to  have  opened  personally 
on  St  James'  Day,  the  25th  of  July.     The  sermon  which  he  had  pre- 
pared for  that  occasion  was  found  in  his  desk,  and  was  preached,  with  a 
few  additions,  suitable  to  the  loss  which  the  Church  at  large  sustained, 
by  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Grieve  the  incumbent.     The  death  of  Bishop 
Skinner  was  more  particularly  lamented  by  his  friends  and  fellow-citi- 
zens of  all  ranks  and  persuasions  in  Aberdeen,  where  he  had  been  long 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  379 

personally  esteemed.  We  are  told  that  "  hundreds,  besides  the  large 
company  who  were  specially  invited,  followed  his  body  to  the  grave. 
And  although  apparently  a  rude  rabble  had  seated  themselves  on  the  walls 
of  the  Mausoleum,  a  burying-place  in  the  Spital  church-yard  of  Old  Aber- 
deen, near  to  which  his  mortal  remains  are  deposited,  yet  when  the  offici- 
ating clergyman  commenced  the  funeral  service  not  a  breath  was  heard — 
not  a  head  but  was  instantly  uncovered  ;  and  while  tears  were  seen  to 
flow  apace,  not  a  trace  of  disrespect  marked  the  conduct  of  the  most 
ragged  spectator  of  the  scene."  The  funeral  sermon  was  preached  on 
the  following  Sunday  by  the  proximus  resident  Bishop,  the  Right  Rev. 
Dr  Patrick  Torry  of  Peterhead.  A  full  length  marble  statue,  by  Flax- 
man,  of  Bishop  Skinner  in  his  episcopal  robes,  is  placed  in  St  An- 
drew's Chapel,  at  the  west  end  under  the  organ,  as  a  mark  of  the  esti- 
mation in  which  he  was  held  by  those  who  knew  him  and  appreciated 
his  labours. 

The  local  historian  of  Aberdeen  supplies  us  with  some  information  re- 
specting the  state  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  that  city  during  Bishop 
Skinner's  episcopate.  The  house  which  the  Bishop  fitted  up  as  a  chapel  in 
1776  was  in  Long  Acre,  which  was  demolished  in  1795,  and  a  more 
commodious  edifice  erected  on  its  site,  dedicated  to  St  Andrew,  at  the 
expense  of  the  congregation.  The  present  St  Andrew's  Chapel  in  King 
Street  was  completed  in  1817,  and  consecrated  on  the  27th  of  July.  It  is 
in  the  Gothic  style  of  architecture,  90  feet  long  by  65  feet  broad,  the  front 
towards  the  street  of  polished  freestone  brought  from  Leith.  The  ar- 
chitectural ornaments,  such  as  mouldings,  leaves,  foliage,  and  towers, 
are  very  beautiful,  and  the  top  of  the  gable,  between  the  large  towers, 
is  finished  with  a  balustrade  of  Gothic  figures,  in  the  centre  of  which 
is  St  Andrew's  Cross.  This  splendid  edifice  altogether  cost  nearly 
L.8000.  On  Christmas  Day,  1817,  during  the  celebration  of  divine 
service,  the  Chapel  narrowly  escaped  destruction  by  overheating  the 
tines  of  the  stove,  and  considerable  damage  was  done  to  the  interior 
before  the  fire  waa  extinguished  by  the  exertions  of  the  congregation 
and  citizen 

St  John's  Chapel   in  Golden  Square,  on  the  north  side  of  Union 
street,  i-  :i  Deal  edifice,  erected  about  ls<»<;.  haying  a  small  Bpire  on 

*   Kennedy 'u   Annals  of  Aberdeen,  rol.  ii.  |>    ls<),  181. 


380 


HISTORY  OF  THE 


the  north  end.     The  congregation  are  said  to  be  the  representatives  of 
that  formerly  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Bishop  Gerard. 

St  Paul's  Chapel,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Gallowgate,  is  externally  a 
plain  edifice,  described  as  "inconvenient  and  insufficient,  "capable  of  con- 
taining 1000  persons.  On  the  north  side  is  an  aisle,  and  galleries  are  round 
the  whole  building,  supported  by  Tuscan  columns  of  wood,  over  which 
are  placed  Ionic  columns,  in  the  centre  of  which  is  a  cupola  about  nine 
feet  in  diameter.  This  congregation  has  been  in  existence  since  the 
time  of  the  Revolution.  The  Chapel  was  erected  by  voluntary  sub- 
scription in  1722,  and  two  clergymen  appointed  to  officiate  in  it  as 
colleagues.  The  congregation  of  St  Paul's  was  unconnected  with  the 
Scottish  Episcopal  Church  till  1840,  when  the  union  was  happily  effect- 
ed under  the  auspices  of  the  Bishop  of  Aberdeen  and  the  gentlemen 
officially  connected  with  the  Chapel. 

As  it  respects  the  state  of  the  Church  in  Aberdeen  at  and  after  the 
Revolution,  Mr  Kennedy  says,  in  his  "  Annals"  of  that  city — "  Al- 
though Prelacy  had  been  abolished  in  1689,  yet,  as  we  formerly  had  oc- 
casion to  observe,  the  ministers  of  St  Nicholas'  church  continued  to 
administer  the  sacred  ordinances  of  religion  according  to  the  forms  and 
ceremonies  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  until  the  year  1694,  when  they 
were  dispossessed  of  their  charges  under  the  authority  of  a  Committee 
of  the  General  Assembly. — From  the  time  of  the  separation  from  the 
church  of  Aberdeen,  as  established  after  the  Revolution,  there  were 
generally  two  [Episcopal]  meeting-houses  in  the  town,  one  of  which 
was  for  many  years  under  the  pastoral  charge  of  Bishop  Gerard. — The 
other  of  these  meeting-houses,  which*  was  situated  in  the  Guestrow,  had 
been  for  a  long  period  under  the  pastoral  charge  of  Mr  William  Smith, 
who  was  also  a  descendant  of  the  original  ministers  of  the  Episcopal 
Church."  This  gentleman,  we  have  seen,  was  succeeded  in  the  incum- 
bency by  Bishop  Skinner. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  381 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


CONSECRATION  OF  THE  REV.  WILLIAM  SKINNER — BISHOP  GLEIG  ELECTED 
PRIMUS— CONSECRATION  OF  DR  LOW — VISIT  OF  GEORGE  IV.  TO  SCOTLAND 
IN  1822 — CONSECRATION  OF  BISHOP  LUSCOMBE — SYNODS  OF  LAURENCE- 
KIRK IN  1828,  AND  OF  EDINBURGH  IN  1829 — DEATH  OF  BISHOP  SANDFORD 
— CONSECRATION  OF  BISHOP  WALKER — STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

At  the  death  of  Bishop  Skinner,  his  second  son,  the  Rev.  William 
Skinner,  ordained  deacon  in  1802,  and  priest  in  1803,  by  Bishop  Hors- 
ley,  was  unanimously  elected  his  father's  successor  in  the  episcopate 
by  the  presbyters  of  the  diocese,  and  was  consecrated  at  Stirling,  on  the 
27th  of  October  1816,  by  Bishops  Gleig,  Jolly,  Sandford,  and  Torry. 
Bishop  Gleig  was  elected  Primus  of  the  Episcopal  College,  and  this 
distinction  was  justly  conferred  on  one  of  the  most  distinguished  theo- 
logians and  metaphysicians  of  his  day  in  Scotland,  whose  high  reputa- 
tion shed  a  lustre  over  the  Church  by  his  several  learned  works,  well 
known  in  England. 

The  venerable  Bishop  Macfarlane,  of  Ross  and  Argyll,  died  at  a 
very  advanced  age  at  Inverness  in  1811).  From  the  peculiar  nature  of 
the  districts  included  within  the  limits  of  the  united  diocese,  comprehend- 
ing the  wildest  and  most  sequestered  parts  of  the  Western  Highlauds, 
it  was  of  importance  that  the  successor  of  Bishop  Macfarlane  should  be 
possessed  of  no  common  zeal  and  ardour  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties. 
The  presbyters  elected  the  Right  Rev.  David  Low,  LL.D.,  of  Pit- 
tenweem,  in  Fifeshire,  as  their  Diocesan,  who  was  consecrated  at 
Stirling  on  the  14th  of  November  1810,  by  Bishops  Gleig,  Jolly,  and 
Torrv.     The  consorration  sermon  was  preached  by  Bishop  Walker,  then 


'A&2  HISTORY  OF  THE 

a  presbyter  of  the  diocese  of  Edinburgh,  and  was  afterwards  published. 
The  wisdom  of  the  choice  of  the  presbyters  of  Ross  and  Argyll  was 
soon  made  apparent  by  Bishop  Low,  who  greatly  increased  the  num- 
ber of  clergy,  and  congregations,  instituted  schools,  and  appointed  pro- 
per teachers.  Bishop  Low  may  also  be  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the 
Gaelic  Episcopal  Society,  now  incorporated  with  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church  Society,  as  more  particularly  noticed  in  the  sequel. 

No  event  of  any  consequence  occurs  after  the  consecration  of  Bishop 
Low  till  1822,  when  George  IV.  visited  his  ancient  kingdom  of  Scot- 
land, and  the  temporary  brilliancy  of  a  royal  court  was  witnessed 
within  the  deserted  walls  of  Holyrood.  The  Scottish  Bishops  and 
clergy  were  not  behind  in  expressing  the  loyal  congratulations  to  their 
Sovereign.  An  address  was  prepared,  which  was  admired  for  its  elo- 
quence, moderation,  and  historical  allusions,  and  was  only  attacked  in 
one  solitary  instance,  which,  considering  the  quarter  whence  the  hostile 
criticism  emanated,  excited  no  surprise.*  The  journalist  had  the  bold- 
ness to  insinuate  that  the  Scottish  Bishops  and  clergy  cherished  some 
ambitious  design  of  endeavouring  to  re-establish  the  Church,  as  if  the 
loyal  expressions  in  an  address  to  the  throne  on  that  occasion  could 
have  possibly  achieved  that  event  ;  although  the  King  had  that  very 
day  assured  the  deputation  from  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presby- 
terian Establishment  that  he  would  "  maintain  inviolate  those  rights 
and  privileges  to  which  the  Church  of  Scotland  is  entitled  by  the  most 
solemn  compacts."  The  address  of  the  Bishops  and  clergy  was  farther 
pronounced  to  be  sycophantish  ;  but  of  this  they  had  no  reason  to  com- 
plain, when  it  is  remembered  that  the  same  authority  declared  the  ad- 
dress of  the  General  Assembly  servile  and  blasphemous.  The  deputa- 
tion from  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  consisted  of  Bishops  Gleig, 
Jolly,  Sandford,  Torry,  Skinner,  and  Low  ;  and  the  Rev.  Archibald 
Alison,  and  the  Rev.  Dr  Morehead,  both  of  St  Paul's  Chapel,  Edin- 
burgh, the  Rev.  James  Walker  (afterwards  Bishop)  of  St  Peter's 
Chapel,  Edinburgh,  the  Rev.  Dr  Michael  Russell  (afterwards  Bishop) 
of  Leith,  the  Rev.  Heneage  Horsley,  of  St  Paul's  Chapel,  Dundee,  and 
the  Rev.  Alexander  Cruickshank  of  Muthill.     They  were  graciously 

*  This  was  The  Scotsman  newspaper,  published  in  Edinburgh — a  print  of  great 
ability,  the  political  principles  of  which  are  well  known,  and  the  advocate  of  what 
is  called  "  Voluntaryism"  in  ecclesiastical  matters. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  383 

received  by  his  Majesty  in  the  royal  closet — an  honour  exclusively  con- 
ferred  on  them,  and  the  address  was  read  by  the  Rev.  Heneage  Horsley. 
Previous  to  1842,  exactly  twenty  years  afterwards,  when  Queen  Vic- 
toria and  Prince  Albert  visited  Scotland,  the  one  half  of  that  deputa- 
tion had  left  the  scene  of  their  earthly  ministrations.  "  The  fathers, 
where  are  they  ?  and  the  prophets,  do  they  live  for  ever  ? " 

In  1825  occurred  the  consecration  of  the  Right  Rev.  Matthew  Henry 
Luscombe,  LL.D.  Cambridge,  as  a  Missionary  Bishop  to  the  Continent 
of  Europe,  which  occasioned  no  little  controversy  and  even  acrimony, 
especially  in  England.     Dr   Luscombe,  in  the  course  of  his  pastoral 
duties  as  chaplain  to  the   British  Embassy  at  Paris,   having  perceived 
the  great  laxity  among  the  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  occa- 
sioned in  a  considerable  degree  by  the  want  of  episcopal  superintend- 
ence, came  to  England  to  consult  his  friends  about  this  painful  state 
of  affairs.     By  law  the  Bishop  of  London  has  diocesan  authority  over 
all  British  chaplains  and  factories  on  the  Continent,  but  this  jurisdiction 
did  not  in  the  least  correct  the  deficiencies  which  Dr  Luscombe  stated 
to  exist.    It  was  plain  that  the  Bishop  of  London  could  not  regularly  hold 
confirmations  or  ordinations  in  France  ;  and  in  that  kingdom  in  parti- 
cular were  many  English  families,  and  the  descendants  of  such,  not  to 
mention  French   Protestants,  who  adhered  to  the  communion  of  the 
Church  of  England.     These  facts  being  duly  and  seriously  considered, 
I  >r  Luscombe  came  to  Scotland,  and  after  an  ample  correspondence  with 
the  Bishops  was  consecrated  at  Stirling,  on  Sunday  the  22d  of  March 
1825,  by  Bishops  Gleig,  Sandford,  Skinner,  and  Low.     The  Rev.  Wal- 
ter   Farquhar   Hook,   D.D.,   the    distinguished  and   learned  Vicar   of 
Leeds,  preached  the  consecration  sermon,  which  was  published,  with  an 
introduction  and  notes,  and   dedicated  to  the  Scottish  Bishops.      The 
controversy  which  this  consecration  caused  appears  to  have  been  finally 
adjusted  by  the  Bishop  of  London  constituting  Bishop  Luscombe  his 
commissar v  on    the  Continent,  with   the   superintendence    of  the   chap- 
laincies and  factories,  and  authority  to  report  to  his  Lordship  at  stated 

periods. 

In  1828  Bishop  Gleig,  ai  Primus,  summoned  an  Ecclesiastical  Sy- 
nod to  meet  at  Laurencekirk  during  the  summer  of  tliat  year,  to  revise 
and  consolidate  the  Canons  of  the  Synod  of  Aberdeen.     Bishops  Gl( 


384  HISTORY  OF  TITE 

Torry,  Sandford,  and  Skinner,  attended  on  the  appointed  day,  with  the 
delegates  of  the  clergy  chosen  from  the  different  dioceses,  but  Bishop 
Jolly  of  Moray  and  Bishop  Low  of  Ross  and  Argyll  either  refused  or 
hesitated  to  concur,  on  account  of  some  peculiar  difficulties  on  the  sub- 
ject. The  Synod  nevertheless  assembled  and  revised  the  Canons,  which 
were  ordered  to  be  printed  and  circulated  among  the  clergy,  and  the 
Primus  communicated  the  proceedings  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury. Some  important  matters,  however,  were  overlooked  in  the  busi- 
ness of  this  Synod,  which,  added  to  the  objections  of  Bishop  Jolly 
and  Bishop  Low,  caused  Bishop  Gleig  to  convene  another  Synod  at 
Edinburgh  in  July  1829,  when  all  the  members  of  the  Episcopal  Col- 
lege and  the  delegates  of  the  dioceses  attended,  and  finished  the  re- 
visal  of  the  Canons  for  the  internal  regulations  and  discipline  of  the 
Church. 

In  the  beginning  of  1 830  the  Right  Reverend  Bishop  Sandford  died 
at  Edinburgh  in  the  sixty- fourth  year  of  his  age,  and  twenty-fourth  of  his 
episcopate.  The  death  of  this  excellent  and  pious  Bishop  was  universally 
lamented  in  the  Scottish  metropolis  by  men  of  all  persuasions,  who 
evinced  their  respect  to  his  memory  by  their  voluntary  attendance  at 
the  last  solemn  offices  of  religion  in  St  John's  Chapel,  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  cemetery  of  which  he  was  interred.  The  congregation  of  St  John's 
testified  their  regard  for  him  as  their  pastor,  by  erecting  an  elegant 
marble  monument  within  that  fine  edifice  at  the  east  end  of  the  aisle, 
on  the  north  side  of  the  reading-desk  and  communion-table,  and  an  ap- 
propriate inscription  on  the  tablet  records  his  many  virtues  and  the 
manner  in  which  he  discharged  his  duties.  The  worthy  Bishop  was  in 
delicate  health  several  years  before  his  death.  His  last  moments  were 
peaceful  and  affecting,  and  he  died,  as  he  lived,  in  the  "  sure  and  certain 
hope  of  a  blessed  immortality."  Shortly  previous  to  his  dissolution, 
the  only  words  he  was  heard  to  utter  audibly  were — "For  Christ's 
sake."  We  are  told  by  the  author  of  his  Memoir  that  "  twice  he  raised 
his  arm  to  its  utmost  extent,  and  pointed  with  his  finger  to  the  heavens. 
His  last  words  were  a  request  that  his  family  would  pray  for  him,  and 
his  son-in-law  continued  to  pronounce  appropriate  texts  of  Scripture 
until  he  fell  asleep.  At  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  without  a  struggle,  he 
resigned  his  breath.    A  slight  flutter,  a  gentle  sigh,  and  his  happy  spirit 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  385 

had  returned  to  God.  His  wife  and  children  gathered  round  him,  and 
as  they  looked  on  the  expression  which  the  parting  soul  had  left  as  the 
impress  of  its  bliss,  they  felt  more  resigned,  and  retired,  praising  God."* 
It  is  stated  in  another  part  of  the  same  sketch,  that  "  he  had  often  in- 
dulged an  idea  of  resigning  his  Episcopal  charge,  and  spending  his  de- 
clining years  in  the  society  of  his  several  children.  But  it  was  other- 
wise appointed,  and  he  retained  until  the  last  his  connection  with  a 
Church  with  which  he  had  been  so  long  and  so  honourably  associated." 
Bishop  Sandford  was  happy  in  his  surviving  children.  His  son,  the  late 
Sir  Daniel  K.  Sandford,  who  received  the  honour  of  knighthood  from 
William  IV.,  and  was  returned  Member  of  Parliament  for  Paisley  in  1834, 
was  Professor  of  Greek  in  the  University  of  Glasgow,  and  died  in  the 
prime  of  life,  lamented  by  all,  in  1837.  Another  son,  Erskine  Douglas 
Sandford,  Esq.  Advocate,  a  distinguished  member  of  the  Scottish  Bar, 
was  appointed  Sheriff  or  Steward  of  Kirkcudbrightshire  in  1841.  The 
Bishop's  youngest  son,  the  Rev.  John  Sandford,  M.A.,  was  presented  to 
the  vicarage  of  Chillingham,  by  Bishop  Van  Mildert  of  Durham,  in 
1827,  and  has  since  held  other  preferments  in  the  Church  of  England, 
of  which  he  is  a  worthy  and  esteemed  clergyman. 

The  successor  of  Bishop  Sandford  was  the  Rev.  James  Walker,  D.D., 
who  had  resigned  his  share  of  the  pastoral  charge  of  St  Peter's  Chapel 
in  Edinburgh  in  1829,  when  his  colleague  became  the  sole  incumbent, 
that  he  might  altogether  devote  himself  to  his  duties  as  Professor  of 
Divinity.  Never  was  there  an  election  which  gave  greater  satisfaction 
than  that  of  Bishop  Walker,  and  it  was  only  doubtful  if  the  delicate 
state  of  his  health  might  not  induce  him  to  refuse.  Fortunately,  how- 
ever, Bishop  Walker  accepted  the  election,  and  he  was  consecrated  at 
Stirling  on  Sunday,  the  7th  of  March  1830,  by  Bishops  Gleig,  Jolly, 
Skinner,  and  Low.  The  consecration  sermon  was  preached  by  Bishop 
Russell,  and  was  afterwards  published,  entitled — "  The  Historical  Evi- 
dence for  the  Apostolical  Institution  of  Episcopacy,"  several  editions 
of  which  have  been  printed.  Bishop  Walker  entered  upon  the  duties 
of  the  episcopate  by  visiting  officially  all  the  congregations  in  Edin- 
burgh, thoso  of  Leith,  Portobello,  Musselburgh,  Haddington,  Kelso, 
Dumfries,  Glasgow,  Paisley,  Greenock,  and  in  the  county  of  Fife,  which, 

*  Memoir  in  Remain*  of  Bishop  Sandford,  vol.  i.  j>.  7j.      Iii  tlii-  Memoir  the  eha- 

racter  o\  ihe  Bishop  is  admirably  delineated. 

2  n 


386  HISTORY  OF  THE 

with  the  exception  of  Pittenweem,  then  formed  part  of  the  extensive 
united  diocese  of  Edinburgh,  Fife,  and  Glasgow.  On  those  occasions 
he  held  confirmations  in  most  of  the  provincial  congregations,  and  a 
primary  visitation  of  the  clergy  in  the  several  districts. 

A  retrospective  view  of  the  state  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church 
will  form  an  appropriate  conclusion  to  the  present  division  of  the  narra- 
tive. Its  prosperity  after  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Sandford  is  evinced 
from  the  fact,  that  during  his  episcopate  the  number  of  clergy  increased 
from  seven  to  twenty -five,  five  of  whom,  formerly  independent,  submit- 
ted themselves  to  his  jurisdiction,  and  seven  were  appointed  to  new  con- 
gregations licensed  for  the  first  time  by  him.  The  splendid  Gothic  edi- 
fices of  St  Paul's  and  St  John's  Chapels  in  Edinburgh  are  already  men- 
tioned as  having  been  chiefly  erected  through  the  influence  and  exer- 
tions of  Lord  Medwyn  and  his  brother  Sir  William  Forbes.  It  is  also 
stated  that  the  congregation  of  the  former  removed  from  the  Cowgate 
Chapel  in  1818.  The  congregation  of  St  John's  removed  in  1818  from 
Charlotte  Chapel,  a  small  plain  building  at  the  west  end  of  Rose  Street, 
near  Charlotte  Square,  now  occupied  as  a  Baptist  meeting-house,  in 
which  Bishop  Sandford  officiated  for  twenty  years,  after  he  left  the  tem- 
porary place  of  worship  in  the  upper  storey  of  a  tenement  in  West  Re- 
gister Street.  In  1821  St  James'  Chapel,  Broughton  Place,  was  open- 
ed under  the  incumbency  of  the  Rev.  Edward  Craig,  who  in  conse- 
quence resigned  the  pastoral  charge  of  St  Paul's,  Carrubber's  Close. 
The  most  recent  Episcopal  Chapel  erected  in  Edinburgh  must  be  merely 
noticed  prospectively  in  point  of  date.  This  is  Trinity  Chapel,  Dean 
Bridge,  a  beautiful  Gothic  edifice,  from  a  design  by  John  Henderson, 
Esq.  architect,  Edinburgh,  and  erected  in  1838  during  the  episcopate 
of  Bishop  Walker,  who  consecrated  the  funeral  vaults  beneath,  and 
also  the  terraced  cemetery  overhanging  the  deep  and  romantic  ravine  of 
the  Water  of  Leith,  crossed  by  the  Dean  Bridge. 

In  the  pleasant  sea-bathing  village  of  Portobello,  three  miles  from 
Edinburgh,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Langhorne,  incumbent  of  the  Episcopal 
Chapel  of  Musselburgh,  was  induced  by  the  urgent  request  of  several 
individuals  to  commence  the  erection  of  St  John's  Chapel  in  Brighton 
Street  in  1825,  which  was  duly  consecrated  by  Bishop  Sandford  in 
1826.  When  the  walls  of  this  edifice  were  almost  erected,  St  Mark's 
Chapel  was  commenced  by  a  private  individual.     As  it  was  evident  that 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  387 

the  size  and  population  of  Portobello  could  not  support  two  congrega- 
tions, local  contentions  subsequently  arose,  and  considerable  loss  was  in- 
curred bj  the  projector  of  St  John's  Chapel.  Meanwhile  St  Mark's 
Chapel  was  completed — a  large  and  elegant  edifice,  more  than  sufficient 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  Episcopal  inhabitants  of  the  place.  St 
John's  Chapel  afterwards  passed  through  several  hands  as  property,  and 
was  eventually  sold  to  the  Roman  Catholics,  whose  attempt  to  collect 
a  congregation  in  it  completely  failed.  St  Mark's  Chapel  is  now  the 
only  Episcopal  chapel  in  Portobello. 

In  the  city  of  Glasgow,  the  only  places  of  worship  connected  with  the 
Episcopal  Church  for  many  years  were  St  Andrew's  Chapel  near  the 
Green,  under  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  Very  Rev.  William  Routledge  ; 
and  a  temporary  hall  for  another  small  congregation.  In  1820  St 
Mary's  Chapel,  a  large  and  elegant  Gothic  edifice,  was  erected  in  the 
new  part  of  the  city,  in  Renfield  Street.  The  others  subsequently  built 
are  Christ  Church,  in  the  eastern  suburb  called  the  Calton,  chiefly  by 
the  private  munificence  and  zealous  activity  of  the  Rev.  David  Aitchi- 
son,  M.A.,  who,  in  1842,  became  the  pastor  of  a  new  congregation  at 
Lochgilphead,  and  was  appointed,  in  1842,  by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Low, 
Archdeacon  of  Argyll  and  the  Isles  ;  and  St  Jude's  Chapel,  Blythswood 
Square,  of  which  the  Rev.  Robert  Montgomery,  M.A.,  the  celebrated 
author  of  the  "  Messiah,"  the  "  Omnipresence  of  the  Deity,"  and  other 
popular  poetical  works,  was  the  first  incumbent. 

In  Paisley,  Trinity  Chapel  owes  its  erection  to  the  indefatigable 
exertions  of  the  incumbent,  the  Rev.  W.  M.  Wade,  and  was  opened  in 
1833.  St  John's  Chapel  in  Greenock  is  a  large  and  spacious  Gothic  edi- 
fice, built  a  few  years  earlier  ;  and  that  of  Ayr  was  opened  about  1837. 
Proceeding  to  Dumfries,  the  Episcopal  chapel  in  that  fine  town  is  an 
elegant  modern  structure.  Thence,  in  a  different  direction,  the  neat 
chapel  of  Peebles  accommodates  the  congregation  there  first  formed 
about  1828. 

•  The  "Impels  in  Fife  are  few  in  number.  The  congregation  of  St  Peter's 
Chapel,  Kirkaldv,  was  formed  chiefly  by  the  exertions  of  Bishop  Walker, 
In  Cupar- Fife  an  Episcopal  congregation  lias  always  existed  since  the 
Revolution.  The  present  chapel,  dedicated  to  St  James,  is  a  fine  edi- 
fice, having  a  kind  of  Grecian  exterior  to  correspond  with  the  plan  of 
the  street,  and  a  Gothic  interior.     This  chapel  owes  its  erection  to  the 


388  HISTORY  OF  THE 

indefatigable  efforts  of  the  late  Colonel  Spens  of  Craigsanqnhar.  The 
chapel  in  St  Andrews,  a  beautiful  little  Gothic  building  in  the  form  of 
a  cross,  accommodates  the  congregation  who  formerly  met  in  an  upper 
room  of  a  tenement  in  that  venerable  seat  of  the  Primacy  of  Scotland. 
The  chapel  at  Pittenweem  is  neat  and  plain,  built  during  the  incum- 
bency of  Bishop  Low,  whose  flock  previously  met  in  an  apartment  of  a 
house.     Alloa  and  Dunfermline  are  subsequently  mentioned. 

In  the  various  towns  and  villages  north  of  the  Tay,  and  in  the  High- 
land counties,  several  new  Episcopal  chapels  have  been  erected,  others 
have  been  repaired  and  enlarged,  and  in  some  places  they  are  provided 
in  the  meantime  with  such  temporary  accommodation  as  they  can  pro- 
curein  their  respective  localities.  The  chapel  of  Muthill  in  Perthshire, 
near  Drummond  Castle,  may  be  particularly  noticed  as  a  fine  specimen 
of  Gothic  architecture,  and  judiciously  arranged  in  the  interior. 

Such  is  a  limited  sketch  of  the  progress  of  the  Church  for  some  years 
previous  to  the  consecration  of  Bishop  "Walker  in  1830.  It  will  thus 
be  seen  that  Scottish  Episcopacy,  notwithstanding  the  many  obstacles, 
the  bigotry,  and,  in  not  a  few  cases,  the  enmity  with  which  it  had  to 
contend,  has  steadily  maintained  its  ground  by  an  increase  of  members. 
In  the  above  enumeration  very  few  of  the  older  chapels  and  congrega- 
tions are  mentioned,  as  these  for  the  most  part  have  been  long  in  exist- 
ence. More  recent  additions  are  subsequently  added,  in  continuation 
of  this  retrospective  view  of  the  state  of  the  Church,  towards  the  close 
of  the  present  volume. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  389 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  STATED  BY  BISHOP 

GLEIG    AS     SETTLED    BY    THE    SYNODS     OF    1828  AND    1829 THE    GAELIC 

EPISCOPAL     SOCIETY CONSECRATION  OF    BISHOPS    RUSSELL    AND    MOIR — 

DEATH  OF  BISHOP  JOLLY BISHOP  WALKER  ELECTED  PRIMUS THE  SCOT- 
TISH EPISCOFAL  CHURCn  SOCIETY  INSTITUTED THE  FIRST  ANNUAL  MEET- 
ING  PASTORAL  ADDRESS  BY  THE  BISHOPS  IN  1839 ACT  OF  PARLIAMENT, 

IN  1840,    IN    FAVOUR  OF  THE  BISHOPS  AND    CLERGY DEATHS  OF  BISHOPS 

GLEIG  AND  WALKER — CONSECRATION  OF  BISHOP  TERROT. 


In  a  Communion  such  as  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  undisturbed 
by  controversial  disputations,  and  still  less  excited  by  popular  conten- 
tions, few  events  of  general  interest  occur  to  engage  public  attention. 
The  Bishops  hold  their  ordinations  when  necessity  requires,  and  their 
annual  and  occasional  confirmations  of  the  young  in  the  respective  con- 
gregations within  the  dioceses  ;  they  deliver  charges  to  the  clergy  at 
their  triennial  visitations,  and  the  usual  Diocesan  Synods  are  held  every 
year,  in  which  the  Deans  preside  in  absence  of  the  Bishops  ;  but  beyond 
these  duties,  and  the  exercise  of  the  ordinary  pastoral  office  by  the 
clergy,  which  requires  no  description,  the  aspect  of  affairs  undergoes 
little  change,  except  that  which  results  from  deaths  and  other  casu- 
alties.  A-  an  ecclesiastical  body  the  Scottish  Bishops  and  clergy  never 
interfere  in  public  matters,  either  political  or  civil,  beyond  transmit- 
ting loyal  addressee  of  congratulation  or  condolence  to  the  sovereign, 
and   strictly   confine   themselves   to   the   discharge    of  their  ministerial 

dutii 


390  HISTORY  OF  THE 

The  internal  government  of  the  Church  is  described  in  a  Charge  de- 
livered to  the  clergy  of  the  diocesan  district  of  Brechin  in  August  1829, 
by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Gleig,  entitled — "  The  Constitution  of  the 
Scottish  Episcopal  Church  concisely  stated." — "  By  the  present  consti- 
tution," says  the  Bishop,  "  as  settled  by  the  two  last  Synods  of  Lau- 
rencekirk and  Edinburgh,  a  consistory  or  diocesan  meeting  of  the 
Bishop  and  clergy  must  be  annually  holden  in  each  diocese  or  district, 
at  such  a  time  and  place  as  the  Bishop,  or  the  Dean  empowered  by  him, 
shall  appoint ;  and  the  clergy  being  assembled,  and  the  consistory  con- 
stituted by  prayer,  the  Bishop,  or  in  his  absence  the  Dean,  or,  should 
both  be  necessarily  absent,  the  senior  presbyter  present,  must  call  upon 
every  incumbent  to  lodge  with  the  diocesan  clerk  his  yearly  report  of 
the  congregation  under  his  charge,  the  number  of  baptisms,  marriages, 
and  deaths  ;  the  number  of  communicants  at  the  several  festivals  and 
other  communions,  and  the  names  of  the  persons  baptized,  married,  and 
dead,  with  the  dates  at  which  these  events  took  place  ;  all  which  shall 
be  duly  entered  in  the  minute-book  of  each  diocese.  After  which  the 
clergy  shall  deliberate  among  themselves  whether  any  change  in  the 
mode  of  discipline  or  form  of  public  worship  might  not  be  advantage- 
ously introduced  into  the  district,  and  the  result  of  their  deliberations 
shall  be  transmitted  to  the  Bishop,  if  not  present,  to  be  approved  or  re- 
jected by  him.  If  the  proposal  of  the  presbyters  obtain  his  approbation, 
it  shall  then,  but  not  till  then,  be  recorded  on  the  minute-book  as  one 
of  the  local  rules  of  the  district  or  diocese." 

This  extract  elucidates  the  manner  in  which  the  affairs  of  every  dio- 
cese are  now  conducted.  As  it  respects  General  Synods,  the  Bishops, 
in  conformity  to  the  custom  of  the  Primitive  Church,  form  one  cham- 
ber, and  the  Deans  and  Delegates,  or  presbyters,  from  every  diocese,  are 
the  second  chamber,  of  which  the  Professor  of  Divinity,  if  a  presbyter, 
is  ex  officio  a  member.  No  layman  is  permitted  to  act  as  a  representa- 
tive, or  allowed  to  take  any  part  in  the  deliberations  of  either  general 
or  diocesan  Synods,  these  being  strictly  ecclesiastical  meetings.  Bishop 
Gleig  proceeds  to  state,  that  "  no  change  in  the  general  modes  of  admi- 
nistrating the  discipline  of  the  Church  at  large  can  be  introduced  but 
by  the  authority  of  a  General  Synod  ;"  and  that  "  there  is  now  no  oc- 
casion for  the  frequency  of  General  Synods,  as  was  the  case  in  the  Pri- 
mitive Church,  when,  according  to  the  30th  of  the  Apostolical  Canons, 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  391 

a  Synod  of  Bishops  was  enjoined  to  be  held  twice  every  year." — "  When 
a  General  Synod  shall  be  canonically  convoked,  for  any  specified  pur- 
pose, the  Bishop  who  shall  neglect  to  attend,  without  sending  to  his 
Primus  a  sufficient  apology  for  his  absence,  shall  incur  such  a  censure 
by  his  colleagues  as  to  the  majority  of  them  his  conduct  may  appear  to 
deserve  ;  and  when  any  member  of  the  second  chamber,  whether  Dean 
or  delegate,   shall  be  absent,  without  sending  a  sufficient  apology  to 
the  Primus,  he  shall,  if  a  Dean,  be  deprived  of  his  office,  and,  if  a 
delegate,  be  declared  inadmissible  into  any  future  Synod.     It  is  not, 
however,  in  General  Synods  only  that  it  is  the  duty  of  Bishops  to  meet 
when  summoned  canonically  by  the  Primus ;  they  must  meet  synodi- 
cally  when  called  on  to  hear  particular  appeals  from  the  judgment  of 
any  particular  diocesan  ;  and  the  Bishop  who,  without  a  very  satisfac- 
tory apology,  shall  absent  himself  from  the  discharge  of  this  painful 
part  of  his  duty,  shall  incur  at  least  as  heavy  a  censure  as  for  absenting 
himself  without  cause  from  a  General  Synod.     But  though  appeals, 
when  regularly  lodged  with  the  Primus  or -clerk,  must  be  heard,  no  ac- 
cusation shall  be  received  against  a  Bishop,  or  a  Bishop-elect,  unless 
proceeding  from  and  supported  by  the  testimony  of  credible  persons, 
who  are  regular  communicants  in  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  ;  nor 
shall  the  testimony  of  a  single  such  witness  be  considered  as  sufficient 
to  substantiate  the  charge,  for  the  Scripture  saith  that  '  in  the  mouth 
of  two  or  three  witnesses  shall  every  word  be  established.'     But  if  a 
Bishop,   or  Bishop-elect,   shall   be   so  accused,   his  supposed   offence, 
whether  in  doctrine  or  in  morals,  shall  be  distinctly  stated  to  him,  and 
time  given  him  to  prepare  for  his  defence,  when  he  is  cited  by  the  Pri- 
mus (or,  should  the  Primus  be  the  Bishop  accused,  by  the  next  senior 
Bishop),  to  appear  and  plead  ;  and  if  he  do  not  obey  the  summons,  he 
shall  be  cited  a  second  time,  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
Kpiseopal  College  ;  and  if  he  be  then  guilty  of  contempt  for  not  appear- 
ing, let  the  College  pronounce  such   a  sentence  against  him  as  they 
think  ((juitablc,  that  he  may  not  bo  a  gainer  by  declining  justice." 

It  is  to  1m-  observed  that  this  sketch  of  the  constitution  and  discipline 
of  the  Church,  as  delineated  by  Bishop  Gleig,  has  altogether  a  reference 
to  it-  position  in  Scotland  a-  a  non-established  oommnnion,  entirely  nn- 
oonnected  with  the  state.  The  duties  of  the  Bishops  in  ecclesiastical 
and  episcopal  matteri  are  similar  to  those  <>i'   England.       Thej  are 


392  HISTORY  OF  THE 

generally  incumbents  of  congregations,  wherein  they  officiate  as  the  re- 
gular pastors,  having  an  assistant,  colleague,  or  curate,  as  may  happen  ; 
but  in  their  diocese^  they  appear  as  the  spiritual  governors  of  their 
clergy  and  people.  The  functions  of  the  ordinary  clergy  are  precisely 
the  same  as  those  of  the  Church  of  England.  The  Liturgy  is  used  in 
divine  service,  subscription  to  the  Thirty-Nine  Articles  is  imperative, 
and  the  clerical  vestments  are  similar. 

In  1837,  the  Gaelic  Episcopal  Society  was  instituted  for  the  benefit 
of  the  members  of  the  Church  in  the  Northern  and  Highland  districts, 
chiefly,  as  already  mentioned,  through  the  exertions  of  Bishop  Low. 
The  Bishop  had  previously  for  some  years  supported  a  few  schools  in 
the  united  diocese  of  Ross  and  Argyll  partly  at  his  own  expense,  assisted 
by  subscriptions  from  his  own  immediate  friends,  and  by  an  occasional 
collection  in  his  congregation.  As  this  Society  has  merged  into  the 
Scottish  Episcopal  Church  Society,  and  is  not  now  in  existence,  it  may  be 
here  stated  that  the  object  of  it  was  to  organize  schools  in  the  Highlands 
under  Gaelic  teachers,  and  also  to  educate  students  for  holy  orders  who 
were  capable  of  officiating  in  the  Gaelic  language.  His  Grace  George 
fifth  and  last  Duke  of  Gordon,  who  died  in  1836,  accepted  the  office  of 
patron,  Bishop  Walker  of  Edinburgh  was  constituted  President,  and 
the  other  Bishops,  with  sundry  noblemen  and  gentlemen,  were  the  Vice- 
Presidents.  The  income  of  the  Society  for  the  first  year  amounted  to 
L.514.  An  auxiliary  was  formed  in  London,  among  the  patrons  of 
which  were  the  Bishops  of  London,  Durham,  Ely,  Lichfield  and  Coven- 
try, Lincoln,  Chester,  Oxford,  Nova  Scotia,  Quebec,  Lord  Kenyon,  and 
Lord  Bexley. 

In  1835  a  sympathizing  address  on  the  distressed  state  of  the  Irish 
clergy  was-transmitted  from  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  to  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Armagh,  which  was  promptly  acknowledged.  Collections  were 
also  held  in  several  congregations.  The  Presbyterian  ministers  of  the 
Synod  of  Aberdeen  liberally  sent  a  similar  address  and  subscriptions  to 
the  Irish  Primate,  which  his  Grace  duly  honoured  by  a  reply.  During 
the  political  contentions  of  those  years  nothing  occurred  in  the  Church 
to  disturb  its  internal  peace,  or  to  retard  its  progressive  prosperity.  In 
1837  the  increasing  ill  health  of  Bishop  Walker,  not  from  the  infirmities 
of  age,  but  from  long  continued  bodily  debility,  and  the  precarious  state  of 
Bishop  Gleig,  then  at  a  very  advanced  period  of  life,  rendered  additions 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  393 

necessary  to  the  Episcopal  College.  By  the  consent  of  Bishop  Walker 
the  diocesan  district  of  Fife  was  disjoined  from  Edinburgh,  and  annexed 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Right  Rev.  Dr  Torry,  Bishop  of  the  united 
diocese  of  Dunkeld  and  Dunblane  ;  Glasgow  was  constituted  a  separate 
diocesan  district,  which  it  had  not  been  since  the  death  of  Bishop  Aber- 
nethy  Drummond,  and  the  Very  Rev.  Dr  Michael  Russell  of  Leith,  Dean 
of  the  formerly  united  diocese  of  Edinburgh,  Fife,  and  Glasgow,  was 
elected  by  the  presbyters  their  Bishop:  About  the  same  time  a  coadju- 
tor and  successor  to  Bishop  Gleig  in  the  diocese  of  Brechin  was  impera- 
tive, and  the  presbyters,  having  received  their  mandate,  elected  the  Rev. 
David  Moir,  M.  A.,  presbyter  in  the  city  of  Brechin.  At  the  time  of  the 
election  of  Bishop  Moir  as  coadjutor  of  Brechin,  Bishop  Gleig  also  re- 
signed the  office  of  Primus  of  the  Episcopal  College,  to  which  Bishop 
Walker  was  subsequently  nominated  by  his  brethren. 

The  choice  of  the  presbyters  of  Glasgow  and  Brechin  gave  the  utmost 
satisfaction  to  all  the  members  of  the  Church.  The  learning  and  repu- 
tation of  Dr  Russell  in  the  literary  world  are  well  known,  and  Dr  Moir 
had  been  long  a  justly  respected  presbyter  in  the  Diocese  of  Brechin. 
The  consecration  of  Bishops  Russell  and  Moir  was  held  on  Sunday,  the 
8th  of  October  1837,  in  St  John  the  Evangelist's  Chapel,  Edinburgh,  by 
Bishops  Walker,  Skinner,  and  Low,  in  presence  of  a  crowded  congrega- 
tion, who  were  deeply  impressed  with  the  solemn  ceremonial.  The  con- 
secration sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  E.  B.  Ramsay,  M.A.,  incum- 
bent of  the  Chapel,  and  was  afterwards  published.  It  well  deserves  to 
be  ranked  high  among  the  several  eloquent  sermons  which  Mr  Ramsay 
has  on  particular  occasions  given  to  the  public.  This  sermon  is  en- 
titled—  "  The  Church  considered  as  the  Pillar  and  Ground  of  the  Truth, '» 
and  contains  many  admirable  elucidations  of  the  scriptural,  apostolical, 
and  primitive  argument  for  Episcopacy.  The  following  passages  are 
selected  from  Mr  Ramsay's  statement  of  the  peculiar  manner  in  which 
the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church  is  "  distinguished  from  the  two  great 
divisions  of  the  Christian  world,  that  is  to  say,  we  are  to  meet  the  Ro- 
manist on  the  one  side,  and  the  anti-Episcopal  on  the  other." 

11  With  the  Romish  Church  the  grounds  of  our  disagreement  arc 
sufficiently  obvious,  and  the  principles  on  which  wo  contend  arc  clearly 
established.  We  maintain  the  absolute  necessity  of  the  Reformation  ; 
that,  from  the  manifold  corruptions  <>f   the  Church   in  the  sixteenth 


394  HISTORY  OF  THE 

century,  it  was  an  imperative  duty  upon  men  to  examine  into  the  causes 
of  the  great  evils  which  had  grown  up,  that  they  might  return  to  the 
simplicity  of  gospel  truth,  and  adopt  the  Bible  as  the  only  rule  of  faith, 
and  as  containing  all  things  necessary  for  salvation.  The  supremacy 
of  the  Scriptures  in  all  matters  of  doctrine  required  to  be  asserted  and 
upheld  ;  the  Church  to  be  purified  from  numerous  practices  and  opinions 
which  they  distinctly  and  decidedly  condemned. 

"  This  is  a  principle  of  difference  sufficiently  explicit  and  intelligible  ; 
nor  do  we  shrink  from  the  argument  with  Romanists  on  the  ground  of 
church  authority,  ecclesiastical  antiquity,  and  primitive  testimony. 
We  admit  fully  the  reverence  due  to  these  ;  and  we  admit  that  they  are 
essential  elements  towards  the  attainment  of  truth,  nor  do  we  fear  the 
results  which  are  deducible  from  them.  Whoever  gives  up  the  respect  for 
antiquity,  and  abjures  any  deference  for  the  opinions  of  the  early  Church, 
resigns  most  important  ground  to  the  Romanist,  giving  him,  for  the 
time,  the  semblance  of  a  triumph  ;  for  these  can  neither  be  safely  nor 
consistently  abandoned  in  the  controversy.  The  Romish  churchman 
can  only  be  refuted  by  the  Catholic  churchman  ;  and,  therefore,  the  di- 
vines of  our  Church  meet  the  Romanists  on  this  ground,  and  contend 
against  them  on  their  own  principles  :  And  they  have  proved,  as  clearly 
as  any  moral  and  historical  argument  can  prove,  that  the  Romish 
Church  has  erred,  not  because  she  has  taken  Catholic  antiquity  for  a 
guide,  but  because  she  has  not  taken  it ;  that  she  is  wrong,  not  in  her 
adherence  to  ancient  and  uniform  tradition,  but  in  her  departure  from 
it ;  that  the  Romish  Church  has  been  led  into  such  errors  as  the  Papal 
supremacy,  the  worship  of  images,  transubstantiation,  and  many  others, 
from  substituting  the  inventions  and  devices  of  the  seventh  and  eighth 
centuries  for  the  Catholic  opinions  of  the  second  and  third.  We  value 
the  unity  of  the  Church  as  much  as  they  can,  but  we  cannot  maintain 
unity  and  fellowship  at  the  expense  of  doctrine  ;  and  we  assert  that  our 
reformers  were  in  everything  borne  out  by  the  principles  of  ecclesias- 
tical polity  which  they  professed  ;  and  that  their  motto,  '  Hear  the 
Church,'  was  in  fact  the  only  real  ground  on  which  it  was  possible  that 
sound  and  consistent  opinions  could  be  established  ;  therefore,  they 
were  fully  justified  in  seeking  again  for  the  old  paths,  in  returning  to 
the  uncorrupted  doctrine  of  a  Scripture  rule  of  faith,  and  to  the  purer 
ritual  of  primitive  times." 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  395 

Mr  Ramsay  thus  forcibly  illustrates  the  second  proposition  : — "  Such 
is  the  state  of  the  argument  regarding  the  first  question — namely,  the 
identity  of  our  own  Church  with  the  primitive  and  apostolical  commu- 
nity ;  such  are  the  grounds  upon  which  are  formed  our  polity,  our  doc- 
trines, and  our  ceremonies  ;  but  this  is  not  an  ultimate  question,  nor  is 
it  an  inquiry  in  which  we  should  rest  satisfied,  for  it  is  not  merely  as 
Episcopalians,  nor  as  theologians  merely,  and  still  less  as  controver- 
sialists, that  we  should  be  desirous  of  establishing  the  accordance  of  our 
communion  with  the  Church  of  the  Apostles  ;  but  that  we  may  be  as- 
sured of  our  connection  with  the  Church  of  Christ  so  as  to  partake  of 
its  promises,  and  to  share  in  its  privileges.  Now,  it  is  here  that  many 
of  the  theological  errors  of  our  day  have  their  rise  and  origin.  Men's 
minds  are  but  little  affected  with  the  consideration,  that  the  blessings 
of  the  new  covenant  are  communicated  through  a  society  incorporated 
by  the  Saviour  for  specific  purposes,  governed  by  distinct  orders  of  mi- 
nisters, endowed  with  certain  privileges,  and  invested  with  specific  im- 
munities. To  the  indifference  and  ignorance  which  are  so  prevalent  on 
this  subject  we  trace  much  of  the  sectarian  spirit  and  sectarian  prac- 
tices of  our  times — much  that  is  vague  and  imperfectly  understood  of 
the  Christian  privileges  and  blessings.  Considerations  connected  with 
the  Church  of  Christ,  as  a  body,  frequently  amount  to  little  or  nothing  ; 
the  prevailing  fashion  of  our  day  is  to  seek  edification  in  the  preaching 
and  exertions  of  individuals,  and  to  look  to  the  clergy  far  more  as  indi- 
viduals, than  in  their  official  capacity  as  the  appointed  ministers  of 
Christ.  It  is  on  this  account  that  we  are  desirous  of  drawing  your  at- 
tention to  the  very  remarkable  description  of  the  Church  in  the  text,  as 
1  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth' — a  description  which  implies,  that 
in  the  economy  of  salvation  far  more  is  assigned  to  the  Church  as  a  so- 
ciety than  persons  in  general  are  now  disposed  to  believe  ;  which  im- 
plies that  in  the  communion  of  the  Church  are  to  be  found  the  elements 
ami  principles  of  all  Christian  truth,  the  means  and  opportunity  of 
being  wise  unto  salvation." 

The  preacher  then  proceeds  to  notice  "  the  advantages  of  thus  look- 
ing to  the  Church  in  its  corporate  capacity,  as  the  selected  depositary  of 
the  Redeemer's  love  and  blessings,"  some  of  which  he  enumerates  as  in 

the  following  extract : — 

"  We  find,  iu  numerous  passages  <»t  the  New  Testament,  a  distinct 


396  history  of  the 

appropriation  of  the  arrangements  of  the  Church  referred  to  for  such 
specific  ends  and  purposes.  Christians  are  reminded  of  their  being  ga- 
thered together  out  of  the  world,  and  to  be  separated  in  a  society,  having 
neither  worldly  views  nor  worldly  objects  ;  and  thus  are  they  to  enjoy  a 
heavenly  communion  with  Christ  as  Head  and  Lord  of  the  Church, 
which  he  purchased  with  his  own  blood.  These  are  advantages  far  be- 
yond the  ministrations  of  any  individual,  however  able  or  however  elo- 
quent ;  whilst,  at  the  same  time,  his  ofiicial  authority,  when  rightly 
considered,  adds  a  weight  and  dignity  to  his  ministrations  as  an  ambas- 
sador for  Christ,  altogether  independent  of  personal  influence.  Blessed 
be  God,  the  efficacy  of  the  sacraments,  and  the  advantages  of  a  Chris- 
tian ministry,  are  not  made  to  depend  upon  the  personal  abilities  or 
zeal  of  individuals,  but  are  vested  in  a  corporate  society  over  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  exercises  a  continual  superintendence,  and  against  which 
the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail !  Thus  have  we  a  most  substantial 
pledge  for  the  permanency  of  our  Church  privileges,  that  our  faith  should 
not  stand  in  the  wisdom  of  man,  but  in  the  power  of  God.  Men  may 
err,  and  the  best  have  erred.  The  wise  and  the  good  pass  away,  and 
their  personal  influence  and  superintendence  are  lost  to  the  world  ;  but 
the  society  which  Christ  purchased  with  his  blood  remains  a  witness 
and  a  depositary  of  his  goodness  until  he  come  again.  Amid  the  dark- 
ness, the  errors,  and  the  wickedness  of  the  world,  there  will  always  be 
a  '  Church  of  the  living  God '  to  stand  as  '  the  pillar  and  ground  of  the 
truth.'" 

On  the  29th  of  December  1837,  died  at  Fraserburgh  the  venerated 
Bishop  Jolly  of  Moray,  in  the  eighty-third  year  of  his  age,  and  forty- 
second  of  his  episcopate.  Though  he  departed  at  a  good  old  age,  when 
life  could  scarcely  be  expected  to  be  much  longer  prolonged,  yet  his  piety, 
his  virtues,  and  his  learning,  had  endeared  him  in  the  Church,  and  his 
death  was  universally  and  sincerely  regretted.  The  Bishop  had  been  many 
years  pastor  of  the  congregation  of  Fraserburgh.  The  following  delinea- 
tion of  his  character,  which  appeared  in  a  local  print*  of  well  known  re- 
spectability, is  from  one  who  knew  well  how  to  appreciate  this  truly  vene- 
rable man,  and  is  worthy  of  being  preserved  in  this  narrative.  "It  is 
impossible,"  says  the  writer,  "  in  a  notice  such  as  this,  to  pay  an  ade- 
quate tribute  to  the  memory  of  this  most  amiable  and  revered  individual ; 

*  The  "  Aberdeen  Journal/'  of  29th  January  1808. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  397 

nor,  indeed,  would  it  be  easy  to  do  justice  to  his  character.  It  might 
not  be  difficult  to  form  an  estimate  of  his  attainments  as  a  divine,  but 
no  one,  perhaps,  is  qualified  to  enter  fully  into  the  higher  excellencies 
of  his  character  as  a  Christian,  who  has  not  in  some  measure  realized 
the  spirit  which  had  grown  up  in  him  to  a  degree  of  saintly  virtue,  seldom 
equalled  and  never  surpassed.  The  reputation  of  Bishop  Jolly  for  pro- 
found and  varied  learning,  extended  far  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Church 
of  which  he  was  so  distinguished  an  ornament.  The  most  eminent  di- 
vines of  the  Church  of  England  sought  his  correspondence,  and  presented 
their  works  to  him,  as  one  well  qualified,  by  his  familiarity  with  the 
higher  departments  of  theological  erudition,  to  form  a  just  estimate  of 
their  merits.  His  theology  was  that  of  the  Church  Catholic,  not  cast 
in  the  narrow  or  distorted  mould  of  modern  systems,  but  drawn  from 
the  pure  sources  of  divine  truth  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  the  writ- 
ings of  the  Primitive  Fathers  and  succeeding  Doctors,  who  have  handed 
down  to  us  '  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints.'  Had  he  been  called 
upon  to  make  a  public  declaration  of  his  faith,  he  would  probably  have 
adopted  the  dying  words  of  his  admired  Bishop  Ken,  whom  he  greatly 
resembled  in  the  spirit  and  practice  of  '  divine  love' — '  As  for  my  reli- 
gion, I  die  in  the  Holy  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Faith  professed  by  the 
whole  Church  before  the  disunion  of  the  East  and  West ;  more  particu- 
larly, I  die  in  the  communion  of  the  Church  of  England  as  it  stands 
distinguished  from  all  Papal  and  Puritan  innovations,  and  as  it  adheres 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  Cross.'  The  Bishop  had  devoted  a  long  life  to 
the  studies  of  his  profession  ;  the  whole  range  of  theology  was  open  to 
him,  but  the  Scriptures  in  their  original  languages,  and  the  writings  of 
the  Fathers,  were  his  familiar  food — these  he  had  thoroughly  digested. 
The  result  is  partly  exhibited  in  his  valuable  work  on  the  Eucharist, 
published  in  1831,  of  which  one  of  the  most  learned  divines  of  the  age 
remarked,  that  '  it  reminded  him  so  forcibly  of  the  writings  of  the  an- 
cient Fathers,  that  he  could  often  have  imagined  that  they  were  still 
speaking.'  The  retiring  modesty  of  the  Bishop's  character  rendered  him 
averse  to  appear  before  the  public  as  an  author  ;  but  on  the  few  occa- 
Bions  when  lie  was  induced  to  break  through  that  reserve,  what  he  gave 
to  the  world  bears  the  impress  of*  sound  judgment,  ripe  erudition,  and 
deep  and  earnesl  piety,  [n  1826,  he  published  a  '  Friendly  Address, to 
the  Episcopalians  of  Scotland  on  Baptismal  Regeneration,'  briefly  tracing 


398  HISTORY  OF  THE 

the  authority  and  uniformity  of  the  Church  doctrine  on  that  important 
subject.  In  the  department  of  practical  divinity  he  published,  in  1828, 
1  Observations  on  the  several  Sunday  Services  throughout  the  Year' — a 
most  admirable  and  useful  manual,  which  no  devout  Christian  can  per- 
use without  having  his  understanding  informed,  and  his  piety  elevated. 
He  was  a  living  example  of  the  intrinsic  beauty  and  attractiveness  of 
religion,  as  it  may  be  developed  through  the  Church  system.  It  might, 
perhaps,  be  easy  to  find  a  divine  as  deeply  learned,  but  seldom  can  the 
name  of  one  be  recorded  who  so  thoroughly  imbibed  and  exemplified  the 
spirit  of  the  blessed  saints,  whose  works  and  history  were  the  subjects  of 
his  study.  The  last  book  which  the  venerable  Bishop  had  in  his  hand 
the  evening  before  his  death  was  the  treatise  of  Christopher  Sutton, 
1  Disce  Mori — Learn  to  Die. '  It  was  an  art  which  the  good  man  had 
been  learning  all  his  life  long,  and  he  had  so  learned  it,  that  the  '  last 
enemy*  had  no  terrors  for  him.  He  remarked  to  a  friend  a  few  days 
previous  to  his  decease,  that  he  was  waiting  his  call,  not  impatiently, 
yet  longing  for  it :  it  did  not,  therefore,  come  suddenly.  Death  was  to 
him  but  the  removal  of  the  veil  which  divided  him  from  a  world  in 
which  he  had  for  years  '  habitually  dwelt  in  heart  and  mind.'  On 
Thursday,  5th  July,  the  remains  of  the  Bishop  were  deposited,  accord- 
ing to  his  own  desire,  in  the  grave  of  his  brother,  in  the  church-yard  of 
Turriff,  in  presence  of  a  numerous  assemblage  of  the  clergy,  and  of  the 
people  of  his  late  flock  at  Fraserburgh,  as  well  as  of  the  Episcopal  con- 
gregation at  Turriff,  of  which  he  had  at  one  time  been  pastor.  The 
services  were  read  by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Skinner,  assisted  by  the 
Rev.  James  Walker  of  Huntly,  Dean  of  Moray."  An  elegant  monu- 
ment is  erected  to  Bishop  Jolly's  memory  within  the  chapel  at  Fraser- 
burgh, the  appropriate  inscription  on  which  it  is  said  was  written  by 
Lord  Medwyn. 

At  the  death  of  Bishop  Jolly  the  diocese  of  Moray  was  annexed  to 
the  united  diocese  of  Ross  and  Argyll,  and  placed  under  the  episco- 
pal jurisdiction  of  Bishop  Low,  conjoined  as  the  united  dioceses  of 
Moray,  Ross,  and  Argyll.  The  valuable  theological  library  of  Bishop 
Jolly,  which  long  before  his  death  he  had  made  over  to  the  Church, 
only  reserving  the  use  of  it  during  his  lifetime,  was  removed  to  Edin- 
burgh, and  is  under  the  immediate  superintendence  of  the  Professor  of 
Divinity. 


SCOTTISH  ETISCOPAL  CHURCH.  399 

On  the  22d  of  August  1838,  a  General  Synod  was  held  at  Edinburgh 
of  the  Bishops,  Deans,  and  Delegates  of  the  several  dioceses,  to  enact 
and  ratify  a  Canon  "  for  establishing  and  maintaining  a  Society  in  aid 
of  the  Church."  This  was  the  foundation  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church  Society,  and  the  special  Canon  constituting  it  is  the  40th  in  the 
Code  of  Canons.  To  no  one  is  the  Society  more  indebted  than  to  the 
Rev.  E.  B.  Ramsay,  the  Secretary,  who  from  the  commencement  de- 
voted his  talents,  influence,  and  services,  to  promote  its  interests  with 
the  most  unwearied  and  unabated  ardour.  The  Thirty-Fourth  Canon  of 
that  Synod  also  renders  it  imperative  on  the  Bishops  to  hold  an  Epis- 
copal Synod  annually  at  such  time  and  place  as  the  majority  of  them 
shall  appoint.  In  the  meantime  the  Bishops,  as  Trustees  of  the  Pan- 
tonian  and  other  funds,  meet  in  Edinburgh  every  year  on  the  first 
Wednesday  of  September.  In  each  successive  year  matters  of  difficulty 
may  be  thus  referred  to  the  Bishops  in  Synod  assembled  for  their  con- 
sideration and  counsel,  and  matters  of  discipline  can  at  the  same  time 
be  presented,  by  appeal  or  otherwise,  as  the  Canons  direct,  to  be  then 
duly  considered  and  determined,  in  conformity  with  the  canon  law,  con- 
stitution, and  uniform  practice  of  the  Church. 

The  Fortieth  Canon,  enacted  by  the  Ecclesiastical  Synod  of  Edin- 
burgh, is  to  the  following  effect : — "  Whereas  in  the  Primitive  Church, 
and  by  apostolic  order,  collections  were  made  for  the  poorer  brethren, 
and  for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel,  it  is  hereby  decreed  that  a  simi- 
lar practice  shall  be  observed  in  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church.  Nor 
ought  the  poverty  of  the  Church,  or  of  any  portion  of  it,  to  be  pleaded 
as  an  objection,  seeing  that  the  divine  commendation  is  given  equally 
to  those  who,  from  their  poverty,  give  a  little  with  cheerfulness,  and  to 
those  who  give  largely  of  their  abundance.  For  this  purpose,  a  Society, 
called  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  Society,  shall  be  formed,  tho 
objects  of  which  shall  be,  1st,  To  provide  a  fund  for  aged  or  infirm 
clergymen,  or  salaries  for  their  assistants,  and  general  aid  for  congrega- 
tion- struggling  with  pecuniary  difficulties.  2d,  To  assist  candidates 
for  the  ministry  in  completing  their  theological  studies.    3d,  To  provide 

Episcopal  sehoolmasters,  books,  and  tracts  for  the  poor.      \thy   To  assist 

in  the  formation  oi  enlargement  of  diocesan  libraries.   To  promote  thi 

important  purposes,  a  certain  day  shall  be  fixed  npOD  annually  bj  every 

Diocesan  Synod,  when  a  collection   shall   be  made  in  every  chapel 


400  HISTORY  OF  THE 

throughout  the  diocese,  and  the  nature  and  object  of  the  Society  in  re- 
ference to  the  existing  wants  of  the  Church,  shall  be  explained  to  the 
people." 

The  design  of  this  Society — an  association  of  the  utmost  importance 
in  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  Church,  and  the  want  of  which  was 
long  severely  felt,  is  forcibly  expressed  in  one  of  the  first  printed  circu- 
lars addressed  to  the  subscribers  in  1838,  and  signed  by  the  Rev.  E.  B. 
Ramsay. 

"  This  Society  having  been  lately  constituted  in  Edinburgh  at  a  pub- 
lic meeting,  the  Right  Rev.  the  Primus  in  the  chair,  the  General  Com- 
mittee are  desirous  of  laying  before  the  friends  of  the  Church  a  short 
statement  of  some  of  the  causes  which  have  led  to  its  formation,  and  of 
the  objects  which  it  is  intended  to  accomplish. 

"  Those  who  judge  of  Episcopacy  in  Scotland  from  what  they  ob- 
serve in  the  large  towns,  will  form  a  most  incorrect  estimate  of  its  con- 
dition in  some  of  the  country  districts.  In  fact,  the  Scottish  Episco- 
pal Church  has  in  different  parts,  for  many  years,  been  suffering  under 
the  pressure  of  extreme  poverty.  It  is  proposed  that,  by  the  next  ge- 
neral meeting  of  the  Society,  a  more  particular  detail  of  the  extent  and 
circumstances  of  this  poverty  shall  be  laid  before  the  public.  Suffice  it  at 
present  to  state,  that  there  are  many  Episcopalian  congregations  utterly 
unable,  without  aid,  to  contribute  for  their  clergymen  the  bare  means  of 
subsistence  ;  and  some  more  permanent  and  efficient  funds  are  now  es- 
pecially and  imperatively  called  for  in  cases  where  the  clergymen, 
either  from  sickness  or  old  age,  are  unequal  to  the  duties.  In  such  in- 
stances an  assistant  is  required,  and  for  this  arrangement  many  most 
respectable  congregations  are  scarcely  able  to  make  a  decent  provision  ; 
some  find  it  quite  impossible.  In  the  northern  counties,  where  Epis- 
copalians are  numerous,  the  people  are  extremely  poor,  and  of  late 
years  have  experienced  such  difficulties  in  procuring  the  necessaries  of 
life,  that  they  cannot  be  supposed  to  have  much  to  spare  for  ecclesias- 
tical purposes.  This  poverty  is  the  more  to  be  deplored,  inasmuch  as  it 
has  been  found  that  so  many  excellent  and  highly  respectable  young 
men  have  been  studying  for  the  ministry,  as  to  give  a  promise  of  a  ris- 
ing generation  of  useful,  intelligent,  devoted  labourers  in  the  Lord's 
vineyard.  Their  means  for  education,  for  procuring  books,  and  for  sub- 
sisting, before  being  placed  in  charges,  are  sadly  limited,  and  their  ul- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOFAL  CHURCH.  401 

timate  prospects  sufficiently  discouraging.  In  many  parts  of  the  country, 
also,  the  poor  Episcopalian  families  have  little  means  of  educating  their 
children  according  to  the  principles  of  their  own  faith,  and  hence  the 
difficulty  of  providing  Schoolmasters,  of  furnishing  Bibles,  Prayer- 
Books  (Gaelic  and  English),  Books  for  Education,  Tracts,  &c.  has 
been  severely  felt  by  the  clergy  of  those  districts.  From  these  and 
other  similar  considerations,  the  friends  of  the  Church  have  frequently 
turned  their  attention  to  supplying  some  remedy  for  these  deficiencies. 
The  Scottish  Episcopal  Fund  was  raised  in  1806  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Church,  and  a  short  extract  from  a  report  of  its  Trustees  in  1830  will 
show  how  little  it  has  effected,  and  how  much  is  left  to  be  done  ;  and  it 
should  be  remembered  also  that  this  Fund  is,  by  its  constitution  as  well 
as  means,  precluded  from  giving  aid  in  such  cases  as  retired  clergymen, 
students  in  divinity,  repairs  of  chapels,  schools,  books,  &c. 

"  *  It  was  a  matter  of  deep  concern  to  many  of  the  laymen  of  the 
Scottish  Episcopal  Communion,  to  see  their  Bishops  and  pastors  un- 
able to  support  that  decent  rank  in  society,  to  which  they  were  so  justly 
entitled  by  their  piety  and  learning,  and  which  was  so  necessary  to  give 
weight  to  their  ministrations.  With  a  view  to  provide  some  permanent 
remedy  for  this  great  evil,  several  individuals  formed  themselves  into  a 
body  in  the  year  1806,  and  exerted  themselves  to  procure  subscriptions 
both  in  England  and  Scotland  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  fund, 
the  interest  of  which,  together  with  annual  subscriptions,  should  be  ap- 
plied to  make  such  moderate  additions  to  the  incomes  of  the  Bishops, 
and  of*  the  most  necessitous  of  the  clergy,  as  might,  in  some  degree,  re- 
lieve them  from  the  extreme  pecuniary  distress  to  which  they  had  so 
long  submitted,  without  murmur  or  complaint. 

"  '  At  present  there  are  many  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  in  Scotland 
whose  situation  certainly  demands  some  permanent  assistance,  but 
whose  claims,  however  necessitous,  the  Trustees  have  been  obliged,  from 
want  of  funds,  to  reject  altogether  ;  and  hitherto  they  have  not  beeu 
able,  in  any  instance,  even  of  the  must  urgent  necessity,  to  raise  their 
annual  allowances  to  any  inferior  clergyman  higher  than  the  pittance  of 
1,15.' 

"  Iii  1832  the  Gaelic  Episcopal  Society  was  instituted  for  the  purpose 
of  supplying  some  of  these  necessities,  but  its  operation  was  too  Limited, 
and  ir  has  dow  i  1  into  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  Society — 

2  i 


402  HISTORY  OF  THE 

an  association  which  has  been  constituted  under  the  sanction  and  autho- 
rity of  the  whole  Church,  and  which,  it  is  earnestly  hoped,  will  meet 
with  the  support  and  sympathy  of  every  congregation,  and  every  indi- 
vidual throughout  the  Church.  There  has  somehow  been  an  unaccount- 
able apathy  in  members  of  our  Church,  generally  speaking,  toward  its 
poverty  and  privations.  In  our  community  are  found  some  of  the 
wealthiest  congregations  in  the  country,  and  at  the  same  time  some  of 
the  poorest  provisions  for  the  clergy.  It  is  the  object  of  this  Society, 
therefore,  to  unite  all  our  congregations  under  Episcopal  sanction  and 
authority,  in  a  benevolent  association  of  Christians  and  of  Churchmen  ; 
the  objects  shall  be  entirely  ecclesiastical ;  and  were  each  individual  of 
the  Church  to  make  an  offering  from  the  means  with  which  God  has 
blessed  him,  and  such  an  one  as  he  might  make  cheerfully  and  without 
inconvenience,  many  of  the  evils  now  felt  in  different  portions  of  the 
Church  would  be  removed  ;  and  by  relief  from  their  pressure,  it  is 
humbly  hoped  that,  under  the  Divine  blessing,  an  increased  efficiency 
would  be  imparted  to  the  ministrations  of  the  clergy." 

The  first  Patron  and  Vice-Patrons  of  the  Society  may  be  here  enu- 
merated. Patron — His  Grace  Walter  Duke  of  Buccleuch  and  Queens- 
berry,  K.G.  Vice-Patrons — His  Grace  James  Henry  Robert  Duke 
of  Roxburghe,  K.T.,  the  Most  Hon.  John  William  Robert  Marquis  of 
Lothian,*  the  Right  Hon.  William  George  Earl  of  Erroll,  the  Right 
Hon.  George  Sholto  Earl  of  Morton,  the  Right  Hon.  David  Earl  of 
Airlie,  the  Right  Hon.  Archibald  John  Earl  of  Rosebery,  the  Right 
Hon.  James  Andrew  John  Viscount  Strathallan,  the  Right  Hon.  James 
Oconchar  Lord  Forbes.  The  first  President  was  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
Walker,  Primus  of  the  Episcopal  College  ;  and  the  Vice-Presidents 
in  the  following  order  : — Right  Rev.  Bishop  Torry,  of  Dunkeld,  Dun- 
blane, and  Fife,  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Skinner,  of  Aberdeen,  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  Low,  of  Moray,  Ross,  and  Argyll,  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Russell, 
of  Glasgow,  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Moir,  of  Brechin,  Right  Hon.  Lord 
William  Douglas,  Hon.  Lord  Medwyn,  Hon.  Walter  Forbes,  Master  of 
Forbes,  Sir  John  Stuart  Forbes,  of  Pitsligo  Bart.,  Sir  John  Hope, 
Bart,  of  Craighall,  Sir  James  Ramsay,  Bart,  of  Bamff,  Sir  James  M. 
Riddell,  Bart.,  of  Ardnamurchan,  Adam  Duff,  Esq.,  Sheriff  of  Edin- 

*   This  Nobleman  died  in  the  prime  of  life  in  England  in  1841. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  403 

burgh,*  Colonel  Fraser  of  Castle  Fraser,  Alexander  Falconar,  Esq.,  of 
Falcon  Hall,  near  Edinburgh,  W.  E.  Gladstone,  Esq.,  M.P.f  The 
General  Committee,  with  power  to  form  Sub-Committees,  comprising 
the  Episcopal  Clergy  of  Scotland  and  all  Sub-Committees,  and  a  spe- 
cified number  of  gentlemen,  chiefly  resident  in  Edinburgh. 

The  first  public  meeting  of  the  Society  was  held  in  the  Hopetoun 
Rooms,  Queen  Street,  Edinburgh,  on  the  4th  of  December  1838,  the 
Right  Rev.  Bishop  Walker  in  the  chair.  It  may  be  noticed  that  this 
was  the  last  meeting  of  any  kind  which  the  Primus  attended,  and  the 
last  time  he  was  out  of  his  own  residence  before  his  death.  Three  Re- 
solutions, proposed  and  unanimously  adopted,  were  respectively  moved 
and  seconded  by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Low  and  the  Right  Hon.  the 
Earl  of  Morton,  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Russell  and  George  Forbes, 
Esq.,  the  Very  Rev.  C.  H.  Terrot  and  Hercules  Robertson,  Esq.,  Advo- 
cate.:): This  Meeting,  however,  was  only  preliminary  or  preparatory,  but, 
as  it  is  officially  stated,  "  considering  how  much  was  to  be  arranged  and 
settled,  it  could  not  well  be  otherwise  ;"  and  "  it  was  desirable  that  the 
Society  should  be  constituted  without  loss  of  time,  in  order  that  Dioce- 
san Associations  might  be  formed  in  due  course,  that  they  might  deli- 
berate upon  the  plans  proposed,  and  thus  the  constitution  of  the  Society 
be  finally  adjusted  after  full  communication  from  every  portion  of  the 
Church." 

The  stated  Annual  Meeting  of  the  General  Committee  was  held  in 
the  Hopetoun  Rooms,  Edinburgh,  on  the  4th  of  September  1839,  the 
Right  Rev.  Bishop  Skinner  in  the  Chair.  Bishops  Low,  Russell,  Moir, 
Lord  William  Douglas,  Alexander  Falconar,  Esq.,  of  Falcon  Hall,  lay 
delegates  from  St  Paul's  and  St  John's,  Edinburgh,  the  congregations 
at  Leith,  Portobello,  Haddington,  Kelso,  and  Alloa,  a  number  of  the 
clergy  and  laity,  were  present,  The  returns  from  the  several  dioceMB 
were  laid  before  the  meeting,  from  which  it  appeared  that  the  subscrip- 
tions, donations,  annual  contributions,  collections,  and  congregational 
offeringB,  including    L.710  from  the  Treasurer  of  the  Gaelic  Episcopal 

•   The  worth)'  and  much  respected  Sheriff  Duff  died  in  1840. 
f    appointed  Vice-President  of  the  Board  of  Trade   and  Master   of   the  Mint  in 
1841,    and   the  author  of  the    valualnV  work,  "  The    Church   in   its  Relation   to   the 

state,"  one  rol.  Bro.  1840. 

\  Appointed  8h  riff  of  Renfrewshire  in  1842. 


404  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Society,  amounted  to  very  nearly  L.4265,  and  making  allowances  for 
expenses,  the  sum  of  L.4000  was  available  to  the  purposes  of  the  Society. 
The  meeting  then  resolved  to  remit  the  appropriation  of  money  for  this 
year  to  a  Sub- Committee,  consisting  of  the  Right  Rev.  Bishops  Skin- 
ner, Low,  Russell,  Moir,  &c,  with  instructions  to  distribute  a  sum  not 
exceeding  L.1200,  and  of  this  to  apply  a  sum  not  less  than  L.600,  nor 
greater  than  L.700,  in  aid  of  clerical  incomes  ;  the  remainder  of  the 
L.1200  for  other  objects  of  the  Society.  The  Sub-Committee  met  in 
the  Episcopal  Library,  Hill  Street,  Edinburgh,  on  the  following  day, 
and  grants  were  sanctioned  amounting  to  L.1236. 

The  first  stated  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Society  was  held  in  the 
Hopetoun  Rooms  on  the  4th  of  December  1 839,  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
Low  in  the  chair,  supported  by  Bishop  Russell,  the  Earl  of  Morton, 
Viscount  Milton,  Lord  Berriedale,  Archdeacon  Williams,  Hon.  and 
Rev.  J.  Sandilands,  Sir  William  Scott,  Bart,  of  Ancrum,  General  Sir 
George  Leith,  Bart.,  Sir  Charles  Bell,  K.H.,  Colonel  Blanshard,  C.B., 
Captain  Hunter,  H.E.I.C.S.,  and  numbers  of  the  clergy  and  influential 
laity.  The  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Low,  after  constituting  the  meeting  by 
the  prayers  appointed  in  the  regulations,  thus  briefly  addressed  the 
meeting  : — "  You  are  all  acquainted  with  the  objects  of  the  Society 
whose  interests  we  have  met  to  forward,  and  I  have  only  to  bear  my 
humble  testimony  that  in  my  diocese  it  has  been  the  means  of  gladdening 
many  sequestered  glens  and  the  lonely  islands  of  the  Scottish  sea.  The 
Secretary  will  now  lay  before  you  the  first  Annual  Report  of  the  Society, 
and  I  am  satisfied  that  it  will  prove  to  you  a  source  of  high  gratification*. 
I  feel  it  necessary  to  restrict  myself  to  a  very  few  words,  in  consequence 
of  the  very  important  business  which  is  to  come  before  you." 

The  Report  was  then  read  by  the  Rev.  E.  B.  Ramsay,  the  Secretary, 
and  as  it  is  a  document  of  considerable  importance,  containing  a  complete 
and  luminous  statement  of  the  formation,  object,  and  operations  of 
the  Society,  it  is  considered  proper  to  incorporate  it  with  the  present 
work. 

"  On  presenting  the  First  General  Report  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church  Society,  the  Committee  are  desirous  of  placing  before  the  Sub- 
scribers and  the  Church  at  large  an  account  of  the  progress  which  has 
been  made  in  following  out  the  benevolent  purposes  originally  contem- 
plated in  its  formation,  and  at  the  same  time  of  explaining  the  prin- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  405 

ciples  on  which  it  is  proposed  to  act  in  its  future  proceedings.  In  order 
to  make  their  statement  in  as  compendious  a  form  as  the  circumstances 
may  admit  of,  they  arrange  the  materials  of  this  Report  under  three 
separate  heads:  1.  To  exhibit  the  objects  of  the  Society.  2.  Its  con- 
stitution ;  and,  3.  The  progress  which  it  has  made. 

"1.  The  objects  of  the  Society  have  been  already  sufficiently  denned 
by  the  40th  Canon,  under  which  it  is  constituted.  They  are  thus  de- 
scribed in  the  Canon  itself:—'  1st,  To  provide  a  fund  for  aged  or  infirm 
clergymen,  or  salaries  for  their  assistants,  and  general  aid  for  congre- 
gations struggling  with  pecuniary  difficulties  ;  2dly,  To  assist  candidates 
for  the  ministry  in  completing  their  theological  studies  ;  3dly,  To  pro- 
vide Episcopal  schoolmasters  with  books  and  tracts  for  the  poor  ;  4thly, 
To  assist  in  the  formation  or  enlargement  of  diocesan  libraries.'  The 
operation  of  this  Society,  therefore,  may  be  considered  as  an  attempt 
to  supply  our  Church  with  some  of  the  advantages  which  have  been  se- 
cured to  the  Church  of  England  by  its  various  endowments,  and  by 
its  active  religious  associations, — by  Queen  Anne's  Bounty,  the  Socie- 
ties for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  for  Church  Building,  for  Edu- 
cation of  the  Children  of  the  Poor,  for  providing  additional  Curates  in 
large  and  poor  Parishes,  and  by  the  associates  of  the  late  Dr  Bray 
for  providing  libraries  for  the  clergy,  &c.  In  a  Church  unestablished 
and  unendowed,  a  society  like  this  is  the  only  means  we  have  for  sup- 
plying the  numerous  deficiencies  under  which  we  labour,,  and  an  appeal 
is  now  made  for  its  support,  under  the  full  confidence  that  ultimately 
these  desired  ends  and  objects  will  be  attained. 

"  The  Committee,  however,  are  far  from  considering  all  the  objects  of 
the  Society  as  equally  important,  or  as  requiring  an  equal  share  of  the 
funds.  Perhaps  the  order  in  which  they  stand  in  the  Canon  marks 
their  comparative  importance  ;  at  any  rate,  they  consider  the  object- 
in  the  first  clause  of  the  Canon  as  those  most  urgently  demanding  at- 
tention ;  and  they  refer  particularly  to  the  5th  Regulation  of  the  So 
oiety,  explanatory  of  that  clause,  which  is,  that  '  the  principal  object, 
to  bo  included  '  under  general  aid  for  congregations  struggling  with  pe- 
cuniary difficulties,' shall  be,  to  assist  them  in  furnishing  the  incum- 
bent with  such  an  income  ai  may  be,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Committee 
,,f  the  Society,  sufficient  for  hi-  support. '  They  would  rejoice  in  the 
Society    attaining  Buoh  race  •  might  enable  them   r<-  rescue  t ho 


406  niSTORY  OF  THE 

Church  from  the  depressing  effects  of  that  poverty  which  now  exists  in 
some  portions  of  it, — a  poverty  which  no  one  can  have  witnessed  without 
perceiving  the  many  evils  which  it  produces,  and  the  many  impedi- 
ments which  it  often  throws  in  the  way  of  ministerial  usefulness.  By 
the  statistical  returns  appended  to  this  Report,  it  will  be  seen  that  of 
thirty-two  incumbencies  described,  not  one  has  reached  L.80  yearly ;  that 
many  are  under  L.40  ;  and  that  in  several  the  incomes  strictly  derived 
from  the  congregations  have  been  merely  nominal  ;  that  they  have  be- 
sides various  local  difficulties  to  contend  with,  and  expenses  to  incur, 
which  they  are  little  able  to  bear,  from  the  necessity  of  travelling  great 
distances  in  visiting  their  scattered  flocks,  and  of  attending  Diocesan 
Synods,  and  such  other  assemblies  of  their  brethren,  at  which  the 
Bishop,  in  consequence  of  some  unexpected  emergency,  may  require 
their  presence.  Besides  these,  there  are  upwards  of  ten  incumbencies 
of  which  the  stipends  vary  from  L.80  to  about  L.100  ;  but  where  the 
incomes  are  by  no  means  permanent  or  secure,  and  where  great  difficul- 
ties are  frequently  experienced  in  providing  for  the  necessary  expendi- 
ture, and  in  keeping  up  the  decent  performance  of  divine  service.  Re- 
turns from  the  northern  districts  of  the  Church,  where  the  Society's 
schools  have  been  established,  represent  the  poverty  of  the  Episcopal- 
ian families  as  extreme — that  many  are  unable  to  pay  even  the  penny 
a-week  required  for  the  school-fees,  and  yet  are  exceedingly  desirous  of 
education  for  their  children.  One  very  painful  consequence  of  this  po- 
verty must  be  apparent — the  utter  incapacity  of  providing,  in  addition, 
a  salary  for  an  assistant  when  the  incumbent  is  compelled,  by  age,  sick- 
ness, or  infirmity,  to  discontinue  the  whole  or  part  of  the  duty.  It  has 
been  the  chief  object  of  the  Committee  this  year  to  assist  those  among 
the  clergy  who  have  been  lowest  in  the  scale  of  income.  They  have 
appropriated  about  L.700  to  that  purpose,  distributed  among  thirty-two 
incumbents,  to  bring  up  their  incomes  to  L.80  each,  and  have  aided 
Congregations  in  procuring  assistants  to  the  extent  of  L.  125. 

"  2.  The  second  object  contemplated  by  the  Canon  is,  '  To  assist  can- 
didates for  the  ministry  in  completing  their  theological  studies.'  With 
reference  to  future  proceedings  in  this  department,  the  Committee  are 
desirous  of  correcting  a  possible  misapprehension  which  may  arise  on 
this  head  of  expenditure.  They  have  no  intention  of  turning  any  por- 
tion of  the  funds  of  the  Society  towards  .general  educational  purposes, 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  407 

nor  would  they,  by  undue  encouragement,  induce  a  greater  number  of 
young  men  to  enter  the  ministry  than  are  ever  likely  to  be  provided  for 
in  it.  But  as  they  cannot  avoid  the  conclusion  that  facilities  for  right 
professional  training  and  sound  theological  knowledge  bear  directly 
upon  ministerial  efficiency,  they  are  desirous  that  the  Society  should 
contribute  something  towards  that  important  end.  These  two  principles 
they  would  always  keep  in  view,  viz.,  1st,  To  give  no  aid  except  to  stu- 
dents bona  fide  of  theology  ;  and,  2dly,  To  take  such  security  as  they  may 
deem  proper,  under  the  circumstances,  that  should  the  student  change 
his  purpose  the  money  expended  by  the  Society  shall  be  repaid.  The 
children  and  relatives  of  Scottish  Episcopal  clergymen  themselves  may 
often  be  disposed  to  look  to  the  ministry  of  their  own  Church  as  their 
profession.  This  is  a  class  of  students  especially  likely  to  need  assist- 
ance, and  at  the  same  time  possessing  a  strong  claim  upon  our  sympa- 
thies. By  the  Gth  Canon  of  our  Church,  in  ordinary  cases — '  All  can- 
didates for  the  ministry  are  required  to  produce  a  certificate  of  their 
having  attended  at  least  one  course  of  the  lectures  of  the  Pantonian 
Professor  of  Theology,  and  of  our  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  in 
Edinburgh.'  Now,  as  both  these  Professors  are  to  be  attended  in 
Edinburgh,  journeys  from  the  country,  and  residence  in  the  capital  for 
the  session,  may  in  many  cases  involve  expenses  which  are  inconve- 
nient. Some  assistance,  therefore,  at  that  period  may  be  of  the  utmost 
consequence,  and  by  awarding  it  according  to  the  recommendation  of 
the  Professor,  his  authority  and  influence  with  the  students  may  be 
] (reserved  and  strengthened.  It  might  be  of  much  service  also  in  the 
same  cause,  were  the  Society  to  endow  bursaries  or  scholarships  as  a 
reward  of  diligence,  good  conduct,  and  proficiency  in  study,  to  be 
awarded  to  those  who  shall  be  approved  in  these  points  by  the  Pro! 
sors.  The  Committee  have  this  year  granted  L.55  to  theological  stu- 
dents. 

■ :;.  The  third  object  stated  hi  the  Canon,  viz.,  '  The  support  ofsohools 
fur  the  education  of  the  children  of  the  poor,'  although  an  object  inti- 
matelj  connected  with  the  inculcation  of  sound,  moral,  and  religious 
principles,  cannot,  however,  under  present  circumstances,  be  full;  carried 
out,  bof  i-  it  the  intention  of  the  Committee  to  attempt  an  universal 

.  in  ol  education,  purelj  episcopal,  for  tin-  poor  of  their  communion. 
There  are  however,  m  the  Highland  districts  especially,  when 


408  HISTORY  OF  THE 

the  supply  of  schoolmasters  is  so  scanty,  and  the  schools  so  distant  and 
difficult  of  access,  as  to  render  education  itself  one  of  the  greatest  boons 
that  can  be  conferred.  Upon  this  feeling,  the  '  Gaelic  Episcopal  So- 
ciety' for  some  years  supported  three  schools ;  one  at  Highfield,  one 
at  Balachelish,  and  one  at  Arpafeelie,  by  returns  from  which  it  appears 
that  there  is  an  average  attendance  of  300  children.  These  returns, 
attested  by  the  clergymen,  bear  witness  to  the  benefits  conferred  by  the 
schools  upon  the  congregations  to  which  they  are  attached.  Keeping 
in  view  the  same  principles,  the  Committee  of  this  Society,  to  which 
the  funds  of  the  Gaelic  Episcopal  Society  devolved,  have  resolved  to 
maintain  these  schools,  and  have  added  to  them  some  others,  especially 
four  in  the  city  of  Glasgow,  it  having  been  the  decided  opinion  of  the 
clergy  there,  that  nothing,  under  divine  aid,  would  be  more  likely  to 
benefit  the  families  of  the  poor  Episcopalians  generally  than  attention 
to  the^early  religious  training  of  the  children.*  The  annual  expendi- 
ture of  the  Society  for  schools  would  thus  be  about  L.130. 

"  Under  this  division  of  objects  contemplated  by  the  Canon  are  in- 
cluded '  books  and  tracts  for  the  poor ;'  and  on  this  point  the  Com- 
mittee have  come  to  the  resolution  of  issuing  only  Bibles,  Testaments, 


*  At  the  public  meeting  held  in  Glasgow,  April  10,  1839,  for  the  formation  of  a 
Diocesan  Association  of  this  Society,  the  circumstances  of  spiritual  destitution  among 
the  poor  Episcopalians  of  that  City  were  dwelt  upon  with  much  force  by  Mr  Sheriff 
Alison  and  the  Rev.  Robert  Montgomery.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  the 
report  of  that  Meeting:  — 

"  According  to  a  moderate  estimate,  upwards  of  300  families  from  Airdrie,  Monk- 
land,  Lanark,  and  other  places  in  our  own  neighbourhood,  apply  annually  to  St  An- 
drew's Chapel  for  the  solemn  services  of  the  Church.  Now,  allowing  five  individuals  to 
each  family,  here  are  1500  souls  totally  destitute  of  clerical  guidance,  and  virtually 
deprived  of  the  blessing  of  public  worship.  Regarding  Glasgow,  according  to  Dr 
Cleland's  Statistics  for  1831,  there  were,  of  Episcopalians  in  the  city,  3022  ; 
Barony  Parish,  4450;  Gorbals,  1079:  total,  8551.  The  increase  in  seven  years 
may  be  safely  estimated  at  1449,  making  the  present  total  10,000.  Of  these  a 
large  proportion  are  miserably  poor,  without  the  means,  and,  what  is  worse,  without 
the  inclination,  of  supplying  themselves  with  spiritual  instruction.  In  Anderston 
there  are  at  least  500  souls  attached  to  the  Episcopal  Communion.  Of  these  only 
fifty-four  individuals  are  in  the  habit  of  attending  any  church,  a  large  number  of  whom 
assign  the  want  of  clothing  as  the  reason  why  they  absent  themselves.  It  has  also 
been  ascertained  that  many  poor  Protestant  Episcopalian  children  have  been  attond- 
ing  a  Roman  Catholic  school  some  time  ago  established  in  that  burgh." 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUPvCH.  409 

Prayer-Books,  English  or  Gaelic,  the  Homilies,  and  such  spelling- 
books  or  mere  primers  as  the  Committee  shall  unanimously  approve. 
The  Society  have  to  acknowledge  with  deep  gratitude  a  prompt  and 
liberal  reply  to  the  Secretary's  application  to  the  venerable  Society 
for  promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  by  a  grant  of  L.100  worth  of 
Bibles,  Testaments,  and  Prayer-Books,  some  of  which  are  of  the  largest 
size  of  print,  and  are  thus  calculated  to  form  desirable  presents  for  the 
aged  poor. 

"  4.  The  last  object  referred  to  in  the  Canon,  the  formation  and  en- 
largement of  diocesan  libraries,  may  certainly  be  considered  as  the 
least  urgent  want,  and  will  therefore  be  held  as  subordinate  to  the 
others  ;  at  the  same  time  the  Committee  cannot  but  consider  this  as  a 
strictly  ecclesiastical  object,  and  as  intimately  connected  with  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  Church  in  general.  With  incomes  so  limited  as  those  of 
many  of  our  clergy,  it  must  be  a  matter  of  great  difficulty,  if  not  some- 
times impossible,  to  procure  such  books  as,  in  a  professional  point  of 
view,  may  be  considered  essential.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  in  the 
present  times,  when  the  principles  of  Church  polity  and  the  doctrines 
of  religion  are  so  frequently  discussed,  theological  books  are  the  more 
required,  and,  at  the  same  time,  from  the  greatly  increased  demand, 
have  risen  in  price.  On  these  grounds  it  may  be  considered  a  subject 
for  much  congratulation  that  the  foundation  of  a  valuable  theological 
library  has  been  laid,  and  that  such  a  possession  is  secured  to  the  Church 
in  perpetuity.  The  books,  which  were  the  property  of  the  late  venerable 
Bishop  Jolly,  are  now  deposited  in  a  suitable  house,  No.  8,  Hill  Street, 
Edinburgh.  The  preservation  and  increase  of  this  collection,  as  a 
library  for  general  reference  in  theological  studies,  form  a  subject  of 
great  interest  to  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  at  large,  and  especially 
on  account  of  the  .students  attending  the  Pantonian  lectures. 

44 II.  On  the  Constitution  of  the  Society  the  Committee  are  desirous 
of  making  a  few  observations.  Keligious  associations,  with  their  machin- 
ery ofpublic  meetings,  committees,  reports,  Are.,  although,  comparatively 
speaking,  novelties  in  the  Christian  Church,  may  in  the  present  state  of 
society  !><•  considered  as  indispensable  elements  of  all  great,  useful,  and 
benevolent  undertaking  It  cannot,  however,  be  questioned  that  occa 
sionally  tin  lociations  may  in  their  operation  somewhat  interfere 

vritfa  rh<"  full   i  -  <>f  Episcopal   discipline,  and  the  due  course  of 


410  HISTORY  OF  THE 

ecclesiastical  order.  Without  adverting  to  the  practice  or  the  principles 
of  any  other  Societies,  the  Committee  would  simply  notice  that  the 
Scottish  Episcopal  Church  Society  possesses  this  excellency,  and  so  far 
as  is  known  this  peculiarity  in  its  constitution.  It  forms  a  part  of  the 
Canon  law  of  the  Church  itself,*  and  whilst  it  calls  for  the  aid  and  co- 
operation of  the  Laity  as  office-bearers,  delegates,  and  members  of  Com- 
mittee, still  it  is  in  all  points  strictly  under  the  control  of  Episcopal  ju- 
risdiction. It  may  be  considered  as  the  Church  acting  through  a  So- 
ciety, or  the  Church  itself  resolved  into  a  Committee.  From  such  a 
constitution,  combining  as  it  does  the  active  operations  of  a  society, 
with  the  strictest  observance  of  the  Church's  authority,  many  advan- 
tages may  be  anticipated.  A  community  of  feeling  between  the  clergy 
and  the  laity,  in  promoting  the  general  objects  of  the  Society,  will  ex- 
tend itself  beyond  the  limits  of  their  own  immediate  congregations  to 
the  Church  at  large  ;  the  Clergy  will  have,  with  their  Bishops  and 
among  themselves,  an  additional  bond  of  union,  and  additional  oppor- 
tunities of  communication.  All  of  us  may  thus  exercise  that  common 
sympathy  which  as  churchmen  we  should  feel  for  the  less  affluent 
members,  and  endeavour  to  realise  the  beautiful  picture  of  church  unity 
drawn  by  the  great  Apostle,  1  Cor.  xii.  25,  26,  '  That  there  should 
be  no  schism  in  the  body  ;  but  that  the  members  should  have  the  same 
care  one  for  another.  And  whether  one  member  suffer,  all  the  mem- 
bers suffer  with  it ;  or  one  member  be  honoured,  all  the  members  rejoice 
with  it.' 

"III.  The  last  subject  on  which  the  Committee  have  to  report  is 
the  progress  which  has  been  made  in  fixing  the  rules  and  regulations 
of  the  Society,  in  organizing  district  committees  and  associations,  and 
in  raising  the  funds  necessary  for  the  purposes  and  objects  contemplated. 
The  Society  was  instituted  Dec.  4,  1838,  at  a  public  meeting  of  Epis- 
copalians, called  by  advertisement,  and  held  in  the  Hopetoun  Rooms. 
The  Primus,  as  President  of  the  meeting,  in  the  Chair  : — 

"  '  The  meeting,  which  was  held  in  the  large  hall,  was  one  of  the  most 
numerous  and  respectable  we  ever  remember  to  have  witnessed. 

" '  The  proceedings  were  opened  by  prayer,  after  which  the  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  Walker,  Primus,  rose  and  said— The  object  of  the  meeting,  for 


•  i<. 


Canon  XL.  of  the  Code  of  Canons  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland." 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  411 

which  they  were  now  assembled,  was  to  establish  the  '  Scottish  Episco- 
pal Church  Society,'  as  provided  for  in  the  40th  Canon  of  the  Episcopal 
Church.  The  first  object  of  this  Society  will  be  to  provide  for  its  poor 
and  decayed  clergymen,  or  salaries  to  their  assistants,  and  general  aid 
for  congregations  struggling  with  pecuniary  difficulties — to  assist  can- 
didates for  the  ministry  in  completing  their  theological  studies — to  pro- 
vide Episcopal  schoolmasters,  books  and  tracts  for  the  poor — and,  lastly, 
to  assist  in  the  formation  or  enlargement  of  diocesan  libraries.  Now, 
the  meeting  was  aware  that  these  desirable  objects  were  not  to  be  ob- 
tained in  their  position  without  a  direct  appeal  being  made  to  their  be- 
nevolence for  voluntary  contributions.  It  was  true  these  claims  and 
others  were  frequent,  but  they  were  indispensably  necessary,  and  they 
had  high  scriptural  authority  for  enforcing  them,  since  it  is  found  in  the 
law  of  Moses,  '  that  the  poor  shall  never  cease  out  of  the  land,'  and  as 
recorded  in  Matthew,  25th  chapter.  And  if  it  was  the  case  that  the 
poor  were  to  be  provided  for,  who,  he  would  ask,  had  a  greater  claim  on 
their  sympathies,  than  those  men  who  have  devoted  their  whole  time  in 
the  service  of  God  ?  The  meeting  were  aware  that  their  Church  was  not 
an  established  Church  now — they  were  an  unendowed  Church — a  mere 
tolerated  Church — they  were  a  Voluntary  Church,  and  as  a  Voluntary 
Church  they  now  confidently  appealed  to  the  Christian  benevolence  of 
their  people  in  behalf  of  their  poorer  brethren  ;  but  he  must  say,  that 
though  he  belonged  to  a  Voluntary  Church,  he  was  sure  he  spoke 
the  sentiments  of  his  brethren  now  present,  when  he  disclaimed,  in 
the  strongest  possible  manner,  any  communion  of  feeling  with  those 
persons  calling  themselves  Voluntaries,  who  were  constantly  pouring 
forth  fierce  attacks  upon  the  Established  Church,  and  were  sowing  po- 
litical divisions  and  animosities  throughout  the  community.  With  such 
Voluntaries  the  Episcopal  Church  had  no  community  of  feeling — the 
Episcopalians  have  no  feelings  of  hostility  towards  the  Established 
Church,  In  conclusion,  he  was  quite  sure  that  when  their  ease  was 
fully  made  known  to  the  meeting,  it  would  be  speedily  answered,  and 
the  poor  of  the  land  were  a  part  of  God's  family,  he  therefore  made 

the  presenl  appeal,  confident  that  it  would  not  be  in  vain.'* 

"  The  Etata  and  Regulations,  as  fchej  now  stand,  were  finally  agreed 

*   Prom  the  Edinburgh  Couraul  of  December  5,  18J 


412  HISTORY  OF  THE 

upon  at  the  meeting  of  General  Committee,  held  in  Edinburgh,  Sep- 
tember 4,  1839,  when  a  Sub-Committee  was  appointed  to  make  a  dis- 
tribution of  funds  for  the  first  year. 

"  In  reporting  upon  the  pecuniary  resources  of  the  Society,  and  print- 
ing the  list  of  donations  and  subscriptions  for  the  first  year,  the  Com- 
mittee have  upon  the  whole  a  pleasing  and  satisfactory  duty  to  per- 
form. The  donations  this  year,  including  six  of  L.100  each,  have 
amounted  to  about  L.1900  ;  the  annual  subscriptions  to  about  L.500. 
In  some  instances  they  have  certainly  not  met  with  encouragement 
equal  to  their  expectations.  The  Committee  would  attribute  this  to  the 
circumstance  of  the  objects  of  the  Society  not  being  yet  sufficiently 
known.  They  have  good  hope  that  as  these  become  better  understood, 
the  Society  will  meet  with  a  corresponding  support  from  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Church. 

"  By  the  40th  Canon  it  is  enacted  that  *  a  certain  day  shall  be  fixed 
upon  annually,  by  every  Diocesan  Synod,  when  a  collection  shall  be 
made  in  every  chapel  throughout  the  Diocese,  and  the  nature  and  ob- 
ject of  the  Society,  in  reference  to  the  existing  wants  of  the  Church, 
shall  be  explained  to  the  people.' 

"  The  advantage  of  this  arrangement  is,  that  every  one  has  an  oppor- 
tunity of  contributing  towards  the  objects  of  the  Society.  The  result 
of  those  congregational  offerings  for  the  first  year  has  been  exceedingly 
gratifying.  They  have  produced  in  all  about  L.1000.  But  the  Com- 
mittee are  desirous  of  pressing  on  the  attention  of  churchmen,  that  the 
usefulness  and  success  of  the  Society  must  depend  -upon  the  regularity 
and  permanency  of  its  annual  income.  This  will  be  derived  from  in- 
terest of  stock,  annual  subscriptions,  and  chiefly  from  congregational 
offerings.  Should  these  fall  away  to  any  extent,  the  result  must  be  a 
failure  of  the  whole  scheme,  and  the  disappointment  of  those  who  have 
looked  to  the  Society  for  relief  and  assistance  ;  on  the  other  hand,  were 
the  means  at  the  disposal  of  the  Committee  to  be  enlarged,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  estimate  the  extent  of  benefit  which  might  be  conferred  upon 
the  Church. 

"  The  Committee  have  received  very  gratifying  encouragement  from 
Prelates  of  the  Church  of  England.  The  claims  made  upon  them  for 
ecclesiastical  and  benevolent  objects  within  their  own  Dioceses  are  nu- 
merous ;    notwithstanding  which,   the   Archbishop  of  Canterbury  has 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  413 

become  a  subscriber  of  L.20  annually,  the  Bishop  of  London  of  L.10  an- 
nually, the  Bishops  of  Winchester  and  Chester  of  three  guineas  annu- 
ally, and  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln  is  a  donor  of  L.10,  as  he  had  previously 
been  to  the  Gaelic  Episcopal  Society.  Some  liberal  donations  and  sub- 
scriptions have  been  received  from  laymen  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  an  earnest  of  assistance  from  the  Universities,  in  an  annual  con- 
tribution of  L.10  from  the  Master  and  Fellows  of  Magdalene  College, 
Oxford. 

"  Such,  then,  is  a  plain  statement  of  the  objects,  constitution,  and 
progress  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  Society.  The  plan  is  still 
an  experiment,  and  it  remains  to  be  proved  whether  the  Society  will 
be  enabled  to  produce  those  beneficial  results  which  are  anticipated  from 
its  operation.  When  great  and  unusual  exertions  are  made  by  every 
denomination  of  Christians  in  the  land  to  strengthen  and  extend  the 
sphere  of  their  own  usefulness,  it  seems  but  a  reasonable  expectation 
that  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  should  receive  the  aid  of  all  who 
love  the  cause  of  primitive  truth  and  order,  toward  removing  some  of 
the  difficulties  and  privations  under  which  many  of  her  ministers  have 
long  suffered,  and  suffered  with  patience.  In  proof  that  this  Society  is 
required,  and  rightly  demands  regular  and  cheerful  contributions  from 
all  the  members  of  the  Church,  the  Committee  confidently  appeal  to 
the  statement  of  incomes  on  which  the  clergy  have  to  support  a  becom- 
ing and  respectable  appearance  in  the  world,  and  to  educate  their  fami- 
lies. It  is  fondly  hoped  that  for  them  better  days  are  approaching. 
The  Society  has  commenced  under  favourable  auspices,  and  the  contri- 
butions raised  in  the  first  year  of  its  formation  arc,  it  is  believed,  a 
guarantee  for  a  regular  and  efficient  support  for  the  time  to  come. 

"  This  is,  strictly  speaking,  a  Home  Church  Society,  intended  to  sup- 
ply deficiencies,  and  to  correct  evils  which  have  been  long  felt,  but  too 
long  neglected.  When  it  is  said  that  the  specific  claims  of  our  own 
Church  have  hitherto  been  overlooked,  in  the  general  career  of  Chris- 
tian benevolence,  no  invidious  comparison  is  intended.  The  home  and 
the  foreign  labours  are  equally  Christian  duties,  and  thus,  while  all 
our  Members  are  called  upon  to  unite  in  aiding  a  Society  of  which  tho 
express  object  is  the  benefit  and  prosperity  of  the  Church  at  home,  eon- 

.  '.rations  are   left  to  follow  out  their  own  views,   or  the  suggestions  of 

their  respective  pastors,  for  regulating  and  directing  their  encourage- 


414  HISTORY  OF  THE 

merit  and  pecuniary  contributions  towards  foreign  missions.  Every 
believer  is  unquestionably  called  upon  to  contribute  of  his  abundance 
towards  strengthening  the  hands  of  those  who,  under  the  sanction  and 
direction  of  the  Church,  are  preaching  to  the  heathen  ■  the  unsearch- 
able riches  of  Christ.'  But  no  less  imperatively  is  every  Christian 
called  upon  to  aid  and  co-operate  in  a  plan  which  has  for  its  object  the 
efficiency  of  his  own  Church,  struggling  with  poverty  which  a  very  little 
exertion  from  each  would  relieve,  and  more  especially  when  called  upon 
to  do  so  according  to  a  method  approved  by  her  Bishops,  and  required 
by  her  Canons.  The  words  of  the  blessed  Redeemer  to  the  Jews  (Luke 
xi.  42)  are  well  calculated  to  impress  upon  our  minds  our  Christian 
duty  and  obligation  in  this  particular — '  These  things  ought  ye  to  have 
done,  and  not  leave  the  others  undone.' " 

The  principal  speakers  at  this  first  meeting  of  the  Society  were, 
James  Strange,  Esq.,  who  moved  the  adoption  of  the  Report ;  the  Rev. 
Daniel  Bagot,  of  St  James'  Chapel,  Edinburgh  ;  the  Rev.  Robert 
Montgomery,  of  St  Jude's,  Glasgow ;  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Terrot,  of 
St  Paul's  Chapel,  Edinburgh,  then  Dean  of  the  Diocese  ;  Adam  Ur- 
quhart,  Esq.,  Advocate  ;  and  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Russell.  Mr  Ur- 
quhart,  in  moving  the  third  resolution,  said,  "  That  as  a  layman  he  had 
great  pleasure  in  moving  this  resolution,  because  it  reminded  them  all 
of  their  obligations  to  fulfil  those  duties  which  had  been  so  eloquently 
and  so  ably  enforced  by  his  reverend  friends.  Respecting  that  duty 
he  had  only  to  say,  that  it  had  not  escaped  the  notice  of  the  friends  of 
the  Church  before  the  formation  of  this  Society — that  thirty  years  ago, 
this  duty  had  been  well  considered  by  certain  pious  and  holy  men,  who 
now  rested  from  their  labours.  He  trusted  that  he  was  not  presump- 
tuous in  thus  speaking  of  such  men  as  Lord  Dunsinnan,  as  Mr  Justice 
Park,  as  Mr  Bowdler,  as  Sir  William  Forbes,  the  father  of  his  excellent 
friend  Mr  George  Forbes,  now  on  the  platform.  Those  men,  seeing  with 
grief*  the  necessities  under  which  ministers  of  the  Church  were  labour- 
ing, formed  a  Society,  the  objects  of  which  were  in  some  respects  simi- 
lar to  the  present  one.  That  Society  was  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Fund, 
which  still  existed,  and  had  been  found  to  co-operate  very  effectuallv 
with  this  Society."  Mr  Urquhart  then  said,  "  That  there  were  two  objec- 
tions which  he  had  heard  urged  respecting  this  Society  in  connection 
with   that  Fund.     The  first  was,  What  was  the  need  of  the   Society 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  415 

when  the  Fund  was  in  existence  ?  The  second  was,  Why  continue  the 
Fund,  now  that  the  Society  had  commenced  ?  To  the  first  of  these  ob- 
jections he  answered,  that  of  the  four  objects  proposed  by  the  Society, 
the  Fund  only  partially  embraced  one  ;  and  that  was  the  providing  of  an 
increase  of  stipend  for  ministers  in  destitute  districts ;  and  what  was  most 
important  to  notice,  it  could  give  no  relief  except  to  clergymen  actually 
officiating,  and  was  thus  precluded  from  promoting  one  most  essential 
object  of  the  new  Society,  viz.  providing  for  the  subsistence  of  Clergy- 
men who  have  been  compelled,  by  age  or  infirmity,  to  retire  from  the 
discharge  of  duty.  Besides  this,  it  could  take  no  account  whatever  of 
the  other  objects  of  this  Society,  viz.  assisting  students  in  theology,  pro- 
viding Episcopal  teachers  for  poor  children,  and  forming  diocesan  li- 
braries for  the  clergy.  Then,  with  regard  to  the  other  objection,  Why 
was  not  the  support  of  the  fund  discontinued  when  the  Society  com- 
menced? he  answered,  because  the  Society  had  altogether  left  out  of 
view  the  principal  object  contemplated  by  the  Fund,  namely,  to  make 
some  provision  for  the  College  of  Bishops.  No  Episcopalian  would  deny 
that  this  was  an  object  of  vast  importance,  yet  it  was  omitted  by  the 
Society  ;  and  all  that  the  Trustees  of  the  Fund  could  raise  for  them, 
lie  blushed  to  mention  it,  was  sixty  guineas  per  annum.  He  could  well 
understand,  however,  how  this  important  object  had  been  left  out  of 
the  views  of  the  Society.  It  was  formed  under  the  sanction  of  a  Canon 
of  the  Church  ;  that  Canon  must  have  been  framed  by  the  very  reve- 
rend fathers  the  Bishops  ;  and  they,  with  their  accustomed  disinterest- 
edness, had  overlooked  their  own  claims  and  their  own  rights  in  their 
anxiety  to  administer  to  the  relief  of  the  suffering  clergy.  He' had  only 
to  mention,  that  the  two  Societies  did  not  injure  each  other ;  on  the 
contrary,  the  more  the  Society  flourished,  the  more  would  the  fund  bo 
aide  to  fulfil  its  principal  object  ;  for  the  Society  would  then  take 
the  relief  of  the  clergy  into  its  own  hands,  and  leave  the  Trustees  of 
the  Fund  free  to  give  a  more  becoming  allowance  to  the  College  of 
Bishops." 

In  the  Episcopal  Svim.l,  composed  of  the  Bishops,  at  the  usual  annual 
meeting  held  at  Edinburgh  in  September  1839,  a  Pastoral  Letter  to 
all  the  members  of  the  Church  wae  prepared,  ordered  to  be  printed,  and 
read  t.»  all  the  congregations  by  the  officiating  clergy  after  the  forenoon 
service  on  ;i  certain  Sunday,  aa  appointed  l>v  the  Bishops  in  their  re- 


416  HISTORY  OF  THE 

spective  dioceses.  This  Pastoral  Letter  bears  internal  evidence  to 
have  been  the  composition  of  Bishop  Walker,  and  is  written  in  his  usual 
energetic  and  zealous  manner. 

In  1840,  a  very  important  act  affecting  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church 
was  passed  by  Parliament,  and  received  the  Royal  Assent  on  the  23d  of 
July,  by  which  the  communion  with  the  Church  of  England  is  rendered 
more  intimate.    It  is  entitled,  "  An  Act  to  make  certain  Provisions  and 
Regulations  in  respect  to  the  exercise  within  England  and  Ireland,  of 
their  office  by  the  Bishops  and  Clergy  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in   Scotland,  and  also  to  extend  such  provisions  and  regula- 
tions to  the  Bishops  and  Clergy  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
in   the  United    States  of  America ;   and   also   to  make   further  Re- 
gulations for  the  Bishop  and  Clergy  other  than  those  of  the  United 
Church  of  England  and  Ireland."    By  the  act  repealing  the  Penal  Laws 
in  1792,  the  clergy  of  Scottish  ordination  were  prohibited  from  officiat- 
ing in  England,  but  this  act  4  Victoria  in  1840  completely  recognizes 
the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  as  a  Church,  draws  her  closely  into  con- 
nection with  the  Church  of  England,   and  sanctions  the  diocesan  au- 
thority of  the  Bishops.     The  act  contains  seven  clauses,  and  the  bene- 
fits of  it  extend  to  the  Bishops  and  clergy  of  the  Church  in  the  United 
States.     1.   The  Bishop  of  any  diocese  in  England  or  Ireland  is  em- 
powered, on  the  application  of  a  Scottish  Bishop,  or  of  any  clergyman 
of  the   Scottish  Episcopal  Church  ordained  by  a   Scottish  Bishop,  to 
grant  under  his  hand  permission  to  such  a  clergyman  to  perform  divine 
service,  preach,  and  administer  the  sacraments,  for  any  one  or  two  Sun- 
days', the  days  and  places  of  worship  to  be  stated  in  the  permission. 
2.   Permission  is  not  to  be  granted  unless  on  production  by  the  party 
of  letters  recommendatory,  dated  within  six  months  before,  under  hand 
and  seal,  if  he  be  a  Bishop,  from  two  Bishops,  and  if  he  be  a  priest, 
from  a  Bishop  within  his  district,  and  also  a  testimonial,  dated,  signed, 
&c.  by  the  like  parties,   to  the  effect  that  the  applicant  is  a  person  of 
honest  life  and  godly  conversation,    professing   the  doctrines  of  the 
Church  of  England  and  Ireland.     3.  This  provision  is  extended  to  the 
clergy  of  the  United  States.     4.  Certain  penalties  are  incurred  by  the 
clergy  of  England  and  Ireland  who  allow  persons  to  officiate  otherwise 
than  in  terms  of  the  preceding  clauses.     5.  A  Scottish  clergyman  vio- 
lating the  regulation  forfeits  L.50  to  Queen  Anne's  Bounty,  recoverable 

2 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  417 

in  the  Court  of  Session.  6.  No  one  who  has  been  ordained  by  a  Pro- 
testant Bishop  not  of  the  Church  of  England  or  Ireland,  and  is,  after 
the  date  of  the  act,  ordained  by  a  Bishop  of  England  or  Ireland,  can 
officiate  in  England  or  Ireland  except  as  above.  7.  Appointments  in 
contravention  are  void.  The  Bill  was  read  a  first  time  on  Thursday 
the  18th  of  June,  when  it  was  presented  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, and  a  second  time  on  the  22d  of  June.  On  the  25th  of  that 
month  it  was  again  brought  before  the  House  of  Lords,  on  the  motion 
of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  to  go  into  committee.  On  that  occa- 
sion his  Grace  said — "  In  order  to  show  to  your  Lordships  the  grounds 
upon  which  the  Bill  is  considered  desirable  by  the  members  of  the  Scot- 
tish Episcopal  Church,  I  shall  read  to  your  Lordships  an  extract  from 
the  Register  of  the  Episcopal  College  of  that  Church.  It  is  thus : — 
4  The  proposed  modification  of  the  statute  of  1792  would  prove  benefi- 
cial to  Scottish  Episcopal  ministers,  inasmuch  as  it  would  remove  a 
ground  of  misapprehension,  from  which  inferences  are  drawn  very  much 
to  their  disadvantage.  From  their  not  being  allowed  to  officiate  in 
England,  it  is  concluded  by  the  great  body  of  their  countrymen,  and 
suspected,  it  may  be,  by  some  of  their  own  persuasion,  that  there  must 
be  a  defect  in  their  clerical  authority — that  their  orders  are  not  valid — 
that  they  are  not  clergymen  in  the  proper  sense.'  I  wish  also,  my 
Lords,  to  call  your  Lordships'  attention  to  the  following  extracts  from 
a  letter  addressed  to  me  by  a  Scottish  Bishop,  for  the  purpose  of  show- 
ing that  the  Bill  is  satisfactory  to  himself  and  his  brethren.  He  says — 
'  My  Lord  Archbishop — Permit  me  to  offer  my  sincere  acknowledgments 
for  the  great  kindness  you  have  shown  to  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church, 
by  bringing  forward  the  Bill  which  your  Graco  recently  laid  on  the 
table  of  the  House  of  Lords. — Our  object  was  rather  to  establish  the 
important  principle  of  Catholicity  among  Protestant  Episcopal  Churches, 
than  to  gratify  any  vain  or  aspiring  feeling  in  reference  to  our  personal 
importance,  in  being  permitted  to  appear  in  the  established  churches  of 
the  South.  We,  therefore,  consider  tin*  permission  as  sufficiently  ample. 
Two  Sundays,  with  the  power  of  renewing  the  permission,  will  meet 
with  all  the  occasions  of  any  clergyman  from  Scotland  Our  interest- 
ing duties  keep  Ul  at  home  ;   and  We  have  reason  to  thank  God  that  our 

labours,  joined  to  our  peaceable  habits,  our  sound  doctrines,  and  our 
admirable  Liturgy,  are  qo1  in  vain.     The  boon  about  to  he  conferred 

2d 


418  HISTORY  OF  THE 

on  us  will  add  to  our  strength,  while  it  will  increase  our  respectability  ; 
for  it  will  remove  a  cloud  which  seemed  to  darken  the  countenance  of 
our  mother  Church,  and  will  place  us  in  a  position  more  advantageous 
than  we  have  enjoyed  since  the  years  1715  and  1745,  when  attachment 
to  a  falling  cause  brought  on  our  fathers  the  ban  of  an  angry  law.' 
Your  Lordships  will  perceive  from  these  opinions  that  this  Bill  is 
highly  approved  of  where  approval  is  most  to  be  desired  ;  and  I  there- 
fore anticipate  that  it  will  meet  with  your  Lordships'  concurrence."  On 
the  26th  of  June  some  amendments  were  reported,  and  the  bill  ordered 
to  be  engrossed ;  and,  on  the  29th,  it  was  read  a  third  time,  and  sent 
to  the  Commons.  On  the  10th  of  July  it  was  returned  from  the  Com- 
mons, agreed  to,  with  amendments,  and  those  of  the  Commons  con- 
sidered and  approved.  On  the  23d  of  July  it  received  the  Royal  Assent. 
In  1840  died  the  venerable  Bishop  Gleig  at  his  residence  in  Stirling, 
on  the  9th  of  March,  in  the  eighty-seventh  year  of  his  age.  He  was 
ordained  in  1773,  and  was  in  the  thirty-second  year  of  his  episcopate. 
For  some  years  previous  to  his  decease  Bishop  Gleig  had  been  compelled 
by  the  infirmities  of  age  to  retire  from  active  life,  and  the  termination 
of  his  course  may  be  described  as  an  event  which  had  for  a  consider- 
able time  been  almost  daily  expected.  Dr  Gleig  was  one  of  the 
most  eminent  men  of  his  day,  and  as  a  scholar,  a  theologian,  a  metaphy- 
sician, and  a  critic,  his  name  stood  for  more  than  sixty  years  among  the 
most  distinguished  of  his  contemporaries  in  England  and  Scotland.  He 
was  the  author  of  numerous  treatises  on  morals,  metaphysics,  and  theo- 
logy, which  at  the  time  of  publication  acquired  great  celebrity,  and  his 
edition  of  Stackhouse's  "  History  of  the  Bible"  is  itself  a  monument  of 
his  extensive  reading,  profound  research,  and  just  discrimination  of  his- 
torical and  theological  details.  Bishop  Gleig's  name  is  farther  identi- 
fied with  the  literature  of  his  country  by  his  connection  with  the  "  En- 
cyclopaedia Britannica,"  of  the  third  edition  of  which  he  was  the  editor, 
completed  in  1797,  in  eighteen  volumes,  and  of  some  of  the  most  elabo- 
rate articles  in  which  he  was  the  author.  Among  these  may  be  men- 
tioned the  History  of  Ethics,  forming  part  of  Moral  Philosophy  and 
Theology.  "In  this  edition,"  says  Mr  Macvey  Napier,  '•  it  [the  En- 
cyclopaedia Britannica]  rose  greatly  above  its  former  level,  and  that  in 
fields  of  speculation  and  research  which  lie  far  out  of  the  ordinary  paths 
of  inquiry.     In  proof  of  this  it  is  only  necessary  to  mention  its  admirable 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUliCH.  419 

treatise  on  General  or  Philosophical  Grammar  ;  its  copious  survey  of 
Metaphysics  by  the  late  Right  Reverend  Dr  Gleig  ;  its  profound  articles 
on  Mythology,  Mysteries,  and  Philology,  by  the  late  Dr  Doig  ;*  and 
its  elaborate  view  of  the  Philosophy  of  Induction  by  the  late  Professor 
Robison.t  The  powers  thus  displayed  in  speculative  philosophy  and 
ancient  erudition  were,  however,  more  than  equalled  by  the  other  con- 
tributions of  the  last  mentioned  writer  in  the  wide  field  of  physical 
science.  Though  his  accession  did  not  take  place  till  the  edition  had 
advanced  to  the  thirteenth  volume,  the  number  and  value  of  these  con- 
tributions were  such  as  strongly  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  scientific 
world,  and  the  very  high  place  which  they  then  took  they  still  in  a  great 
measure  maintain  in  its  estimation.  Shortly  before,  the  work  had  been 
committed,  owing  to  the  death  of  the  editor,  Mr  Macfarquhar,  to  the 
direction  of  Dr  Gleig,  and  to  this  occurrence  Professor  Robison's  ac- 
cession, and  its  important  consequences,  would  seem  to  be  owing. "J 
In  private  life  Bishop  Gleig  was  kind,  generous,  of  unbounded  hospi- 
tality ;  and  his  mind,  until  age  prevailed  in  a  great  measure  over  his 
faculties,  was  singularly  vigorous  during  a  long  life  of  activity,  zeal, 
and  ardour.  His  son,  the  Rev.  G.  R.  Gleig,  M.A.,  author  of  "  The 
Subaltern,"  &c,  and  Chaplain  of  Chelsea  Hospital,  is  too  well  known 
in  the  various  departments  of  literature  to  require  any  encomium. 

A  year  had  not  elapsed  after  the  death  of  Bishop  Gleig,  when  he  was  fol- 
lowed to  the  grave  by  the  Right  Rev.  Dr  Walker,  Bishop  of  Edinburgh, 
Primus  of  the  Church,  and  Professor  of  Divinity.  This  lamented  event 
occurred  at  his  residence  in  Edinburgh  on  the  5th  of  March  1841,  in  the 
seventy-first  year  of  his  age.  The  following  notice  of  Bishop  Walker 
appeared  shortly  after  his  death, §  and  is  so  eloquently  expressed  that 
no  apology  is  necessary  fin-  transferring  it  to  these  pages  : — "  This  dis- 
tinguished person  has  been  long  respected,  not  less  on  account  of  his 
public  station  than  for  the  influence  of  bis  character  as  a  private  indi- 
vidual,    tlaying  passed  through  the  regular  course  of  a  Scottish  College 

*  Dr  Doig  was  master  of  the  Grammar  School  of  Stirling,  and  was  the  intimate 
Friend  of  Bishop  Gleig. 

f  l'  r  Robison,  of  th«>  rnivn\sit\  <>f  I'd'mhurgh,  was  another  distinguished 

friend  of  Bishop  Gleig. 

\  Preface  to  edition  of  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  completed  in  1849,  i».  sri. 

<j   Edinburgh  F.wninur  Courant,  Saturday,  March  19,  IS41. 


420  HISTORY  OF  THE 

[Aberdeen],  he  entered  the  University  of  Cambridge  [St  John's  Col- 
lege] as  a  freshman,  where,  after  residing  the  usual  number  of  terms,  he 
took  the  several  degrees  in  Arts.  Upon  his  return  to  his  native  country 
in  1793  he  devoted  himself  to  literature,  as  sub-editor  of  the  Encyclo- 
paedia Britannica,  the  third  edition  of  which  was  then  passing  through 
the  press  under  the  auspices  of  Bishop  Gleig.  While  in  this  employ- 
ment he  contributed  many  valuable  articles  to  that  national  work,  and 
also  exercised,  in  the  frequent  absence  of  his  friend,  a  general  superin- 
tendence over  the  whole  publication.  At  this  period,  too,  he  gave  to 
the  world  several  tracts  and  discourses,  but  without  his  name,  consider- 
ing himself  too  young  to  be  justified  in  inviting  public  attention  to  his 
opinions  in  an  avowed  discussion  on  controverted  subjects.  Being  in- 
duced towards  the  close  of  the  century  to  go  abroad  as  tutor  to  a  young 
Baronet  [Sir  John  Hope,  Bart,  of  Craighall],  he  spent  two  or  three 
years  on  the  Continent,  where,  as  he  enjoyed  the  society  of  some  of  the 
most  distinguished  men  in  Germany,  he  made  himself  acquainted  with 
the  principles  of  their  philosophy,  more  especially  of  those  transcendental 
speculations  which  at  that  epoch  occupied  the  minds  of  metaphysical  in- 
quirers. The  article  on  the  system  of  Kant,  inserted  in  the  Supplement 
to  the  Encyclopaedia,  was  the  fruit  of  his  researches  while  resident  at 
Weimar.  But  as  his  heart  was  chiefly  attached  to  the  profession  he 
had  chosen,  he  had  no  sooner  attained  the  order  of  priesthood,  than  he 
settled  in  Edinburgh  as  minister  of  St  Peter's  Chapel — a  charge  which 
he  held  till  ill  health  compelled  him  to  relinquish  its  more  active  duties. 
On  the  death  of  Bishop  Sandford,  in  January  1839,  he  was  unanimously 
elected  his  successor  as  superintendent  of  the  Episcopal  congregations 
in  the  district  of  Edinburgh ;  and  on  the  resignation  of  Bishop  Gleig 
he  was  chosen  by  his  brethren  to  be  their  head  or  president  under  the 
ancient  title  of  Primus.  In  discharging  the  duties  thus  devolved  upon 
him,  added  to  those  of  Divinity  Professor,  he  found  full  employment  for 
his  time  ;  and,  though  impeded  in  his  exertions  by  an  increasing  infir- 
mity of  body,  he  bent  the  whole  vigour  of  his  mind,  which  mercifully 
continued  unimpaired  till  the  last  hour,  to  the  discharge  of  the  weighty 
obligations  connected  with  his  office.  But  amidst  all  his  avocations  his 
favourite  pursuit  was  theology,  in  which  he  had  read  much,  and  system- 
atized his  knowledge  with  great  success.  Hence  his  conversation  was 
always  found  exceedingly  instructive,  and  strangers  more  especially, 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  421 

who  knew  not  his  habits  of  close  study,  were  surprised  at  the  richness 
of  the  professional  learning  which  flowed  from  his  lips.  On  such  occa- 
sions, too,  it  might  be  perceived  that,  to  a  considerable  ardour  of  tem- 
perament derived  from  nature,  he  joined  the  utmost  placidity  of  man- 
ner, the  effect  of  a  sincere  benevolence,  and  of  an  extensive  intercourse 
with  good  society  ;  and  it  may  be  confidently  asserted  that,  though  re- 
solute in  maintaining  his  own  principles,  both  political  and  religious,  he 
never  cherished  an  angry  feeling  even  against  those  who  differed  with 
him  the  most  widely.  To  the  scenes  of  domestic  life,  and  the  duties  of 
personal  piety,  belong  a  sacredness  with  which  a  stranger  ought  not  to 
intermeddle.  In  these  respects  Bishop  Walker  taught  by  example  as 
well  as  by  precept ;  and  those  who  knew  him  best  will  ever  have  the 
highest  opinion  of  his  character,  and  particularly  of  that  rare  consist- 
ency between  profession  and  practice  which  showed  that  the  former  had 
its  seat  in  the  heart.  He  was  beloved  by  his  friends,  highly  respected 
by  the  clergy  under  his  inspection,  and  venerated  by  the  whole  body  of 
the  Church  over  which  he  presided."  Bishop  Walker  published,  in  1829, 
a  valuable  volume,  entitled  "  Sermons  on  Various  Subjects  and  Occa- 
sions," and  subsequently  a  few  Charges  to  his  clergy.  He  was  interred 
in  the  burying-ground  of  St  John's  Episcopal  Chapel,  on  the  south  side 
of  the  edifice,  where  a  tombstone  marks  his  grave,  and  an  elegant  marble 
monument  is  erected  to  his  memory  by  subscription  within  the  Chapel, 
on  the  north  wall,  near  that  of  Bishop  Sandford. 

The  death  of  Bishop  Walker  caused  a  vacancy  in  the  diocese  of  Edin- 
burgh, and  the  presbyters,  having  received  their  mandate  for  an  election, 
unanimously  chose  the  Very  Rev.  Charles  Hughes  Terrot,  D.D.,  for- 
merly Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  for  several  years  Bishop 
Walker's  colleague  in  St  Peter's  Chapel,  to  be  his  successor.  Bishop 
Terrot  was  consecrated  in  St  Andrew's  Chapel,  Aberdeen,  on  Wednes- 
day, the  2d  of  June  1841,  by  Bishops  Skinner,  Torry,  Low,  Russell, 
and  Moir.  The  consecration  sermon  was  preached  by  the  lion,  and 
Rev.  Grantham  Yorkc,  one  of  tin.'  ministers  of  St  Paul's  Chapel,  Edin- 
burgh, and  was  afterwards  published.  Alter  the  consecration  tho 
Bishopi  met  to  choose  a  Primus  of  the  Episcopal  College,  when  the 
Right  Rer.  Bishop  Skinner  of  Aberdeen  was  unanimously  elected  to 
preside  orer  the  Church,  and  the  Right  Rer.  Bishop  Terrot  was  ap 
pointed    interim    Professor  of    Divinity.      On  the   high   reputation  of 


422  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Bishop  Terrot  it  would  be  superfluous  to  dilate.  Distinguished  as  a 
scholar,  biblical  critic,  and  theologian  of  the  first  order,  the  choice  of 
the  presbyters  of  Edinburgh  could  not  have  fallen  on  one  more  eminently 
qualified  to  be  the  successor  of  Bishop  Walker.  As  it  respects  Bishop 
Skinner,  his  election  as  Primus  auspiciously  commenced  with  the  union 
of  St  Paul's  congregation  in  Aberdeen  to  the  Church,  and  the  schism 
of  "  independent  chapels"  is  now  happily  extinct  in  that  district. 

In  1842,  the  members  of  the  Episcopal  College  in  Scotland  consisted 
of  the  following  Bishops,  the  dates  of  whose  consecrations  are  prefixed  : 

1816.  Right  Rev.  William  Skinner,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Aberdeen  and  Primus. 
1808.  Right  Rev.  Patrick  Torry,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Dunkeld,  Dunblane,  and 

Fife. 
1819.   Right  Rev.  David  Low,  LL.D.,  Bishop  of  Moray,  Ross,  and  Argyll. 
1837.  Right  Rev.  Michael  Russell,  D.D.C.L.,  Bishop  of  Glasgow. 
1837.  Right  Rev.  David  Moir,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Brechin. 
1841.  Right  Rev.  Charles  H.  Terrot,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Edinburgh. 

In  September  1842,  when  Her  Majesty  Queen  Victoria  and  His  Royal 
Highness  Prince  Albert  visited  Scotland,  the  Bishops  transmitted  the 
usual  loyal  addresses  to  their  sovereign  and  her  illustrious  consort, 
which  were  graciously  received.  These  addresses  were  universally  ad- 
mired for  the  appropriateness  of  the  phraseology  and  the  simplicity  of 
expression.  In  the  one  to  her  Majesty,  the  boon  conferred  on  the 
Church  by  the  Act  of  1840  was  duly  acknowledged,  and  sectarian  or 
political  criticism  was  silent  on  this  occasion.  The  Church,  however, 
did  not  escape  a  furious  attack  from  a  well  known  party  in  the  Presby- 
terian Establishment.  In  conformity  with  the  will  of  the  Sovereign, 
who  wished  to  pass  her  first  Sunday  in  Scotland  in  the  strictest  privacy, 
expressly  declared  on  most  undoubted  authority  from  the  time  when  the 
Royal  Visit  was  first  contemplated,  weeks  before  it  was  known  to  the 
public,  the  Rev.  E.  B.  Ramsay,  of  St  John's  Chapel,  of  whose  congre- 
gation the  Noble  Family  of  Buccleuch  are  members,  performed  divine 
service,  and  preached  before  the  Queen  in  Dalkeith  Palace.  This  was 
construed  by  the  newspapers  belonging  to  that  party  as  an  insult  to  the 
Establishment,  and  they  could  see  nothing  else  but  an  attempt  to  re- 
place the  Episcopal  Church  as  the  legal  and  national  Church.  The  bit- 
terness and  hatred  they  evinced  in  their  opinions  on  the  subject  are  rarely 
displayed  in  honourable  controversy,  and  probably  they  felt  more  poignant 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  423 

by  their  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  all  these  attacks  would  fall  utterly 
harmless.  As  the  event  was  sufficiently  discussed  by  the  press  at  the  time, 
it  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  it  in  the  present  work,  or  to  enter  into  the 
controversy  which  it  originated.  The  harsh  names,  the  furious  tirades, 
and  the  gross  misrepresentations  with  which  the  Church  was  assail- 
ed, simply  because  the  most  eminent  and  eloquent  of  her  presbyters,  a 
clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  conducted  the  devotions  of  his 
Sovereign,  sufficiently  indicate  the  enmity  which  is  cherished  towards  the 
Scottish  Episcopal  Church  within  the  Presbyterian  Establishment,  and 
at  once  proclaim  to  the  clergy  and  laity  who  are  their  inveterate  and 
relentless  foes.  Prejudices  may  be  understood  and  even  forgiven,  reli- 
gious principles,  however  erroneous  or  mistaken,  may  be  defended  with 
a  zeal  and  honesty  such  as  may  cause  the  respect  of  those  opposed  to 
them,  and  the  high  ground  of  controversy  on  important  points  of  doc- 
trine and  church  government  may  be  maintained  without  party  bitter- 
ness and  personal  attack ;  but  mean,  unfair,  and  false  misrepresenta- 
tions, wilful  and  deliberate  perversions  of  facts,  unfounded  jealousies, 
and  angry  invectives,  will  be  considered  by  every  Christian  mind  as 
displaying  a  feeling  which  cannot  be  mistaken,  and  which  seizes  every 
opportunity  to  calumniate.  Such  has  been  the  conduct  evinced  towards 
the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  by  the  majority  of  the  Presbyterian 
Establishment  for  some  time  ;  and  the  Bishops,  clergy,  and  laity,  have 
been,  and  are,  assailed  by  every  species  of  obloquy  and  reproach  by  men 
who  seem  utterly  to  disregard  the  ordinary  courtesies  of  life,  and  who, 
if  they  had  the  power,  would  actually  carry  on  a  war  of  extermination 
against  all  who  are  not  of  their  party. 

But  if  such  opposition  and  malevolence  is  daily  displayed  in  Scot- 
land towards  the  Church,  what  shall  wo  say  of  thoso  clergy  of  the 
Church  of  England  who  make  common  cause  with  her  inveterate  enemies  \ 
It  is  indeed  consolatory  to  know  that  these  are  comparatively  few,  un- 
important, and  nniniliiential ;  yet  there  are  such,  of  whom  the  Kev.  J. 
Jordan  is  a  specimen,  whose  letter  to  the  editor  of  a  well  known  London 
print*  was  enthusiastically  copied  into  all  the  Presbyterian  newspa- 
pers, and  who  seemed  to  be  labouring  under  the  hallucination,  which 
evidently  perraded  some  of  the  Irish  journalists,  that  the  people  ol 
Scotland  were  for  weeks  talking  <>i  nothing  else  than  <cueen  Victori 
•  The  Kscoeo,  iii<-  organ  <>f  ■  certain  ttetion  in  the  Chureo  of  England 


421  HISTOEY  OF  THE 

religious  observances  at  Dalkeith  Palace.  "  According  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Bishop  of  London,"  writes  Mr  Jordan,  dated  Enstone, 
Oxon.,  "  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland  is  schismatical.  He  says — 
'  When  people  of  the  same  communion  separate  themselves  from  the 
Church  of  that  country,  not  differing  from  it  in  fundamentals,  no  such 
plea  can  be  advanced  ;  they  may  not  be  chargeable  with  heresy,  but  I 
do  not  understand  how  they  can  escape  the  guilt  of  schism.'  " — "  The 
Kirk  of  Scotland,"  continues  Mr  Jordan,  "is  in  that  kingdom  the 
Church  of  the  community.  The  Episcopal  Church  there  separates  it- 
self from  the  Church  of  the  community,  not  differing  from  it  in  funda- 
mentals, and  consequently  the  Episcopal  Church  is,  according  to  the 
Bishop  of  London,  chargeable  with  the  guilt  of  schism.  This  schis- 
matical Church  was  one  preferred  by  her  Majesty's  advisers  to  minister 
before  her  in  Scotland." 

The  Bishop  of  London  will  probably  be  not  a  little  surprised  at  this 
extraordinary  exposition  of  his  sentiments  on  schism,  but  the  best  answer 
to  it,  as  it  respects  his  Lordship,  is,  that  on  the  25th  of  September  1842, 
his  Lordship  preached  in  St  Paul's  Episcopal  Chapel,  Edinburgh,  and 
officiated  along  with  Bishop  Terrot  in  the  communion  office  ;  and  that, 
on  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  his  Lordship  also  preached  in  St  John's 
Episcopal  Chapel,  and  the  Rev.  E.  B.  Ramsay  officiated  at  the  evening 
service.  On  the  26th,  the  following  day,  Mr  Jordan's  letter  appeared 
in  the  London  print  referred  to.  These  facts  may  enlighten  such  clergy- 
men as  Mr  Jordan  in  their  inferences  from  the  Bishop  of  London's  opi- 
nions on  schism.  If  Mr  Jordan  is  correct  in  his  notions  of  the  "  Church 
of  the  community,"  from  which  we  are  not  to  separate  without  incur- 
ring the  guilt  of  schism,  if  it  does  not  differ  from  us  in  fundamentals — 
it  follows  that  in  France,  Italy,  Spain,  and  Portugal,  we  should  become 
Romanists,  for  most  assuredly  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  agrees  with 
us  in  fundamentals  ;  and  it  is  almost  unnecessary  to  observe,  that  if  we 
reject  all  which  Romanists  believe,  we  must  completely  reject  Chris- 
tianity. As  to  the  "  Kirk  of  Scotland"  being  the  "  Church  of  the 
community,"  that  can  only  be  admitted  to  a  certain  extent,  for  not 
much  more  than  a  third  of  the  whole  population  of  Scotland  are  its 
members.  Mr  Jordan's  observation  applies  admirably  to  the  great 
bodies  of  Presbyterian  Dissenters  in  Scotland,  of  whose  existence  he 
does  not  seem  to  be  aware.     It  may  be  farther  stated,  in  conclusion, 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUPvCH.  425 

that  however  much  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  may  agree  with  the 
Presbyterian  Establishment  on  some  important  doctrines,  which  are  held 
in  common  by  all  Christians,  that  Church  does  differ  with  it  on  what 
Scottish  Episcopalians,  as  is  the  case  with  the  Church  of  England,  con- 
sider most  essential  fundamentals — of  such  vital  importance  as  to  in- 
volve the  entire  constitution  of  the  Church  Catholic,  as  a  spiritual  king- 
dom, in  opposition  on  the  one  hand  to  the  pretensions  of  Romanism, 
and,  on  the  other,  to  the  unauthorized  polity  of  any  modern  body  of 
religionists,  notwithstanding  their  temporal  endowments,  their  high- 
sounding  claims,  and  their  alleged  scriptural  warrant  for  their  system. 
When  the  Episcopal  Church  was  re-established  in  Scotland  by  the  act 
of  1662,  the  reason  solemnly  assigned  by  the  Parliament  was,  that  they 
found  it  to  be  "  the  Church  government  most  agreeable  to  the  Word 
of  God,  most  convenient  and  effectual  for  the  preservation  of  truth,  or- 
der, and  unity,  and  most  suitable  to  monarchy,  and  the  peace  and  quiet 
of  the  State."*  The  two  latter  maybe  matters  of  opinion,  but  most 
assuredly  every  conscientious  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church  takes 
his  deliberate  vantage  ground  on  the  former.  The  act  of  1689  did  not 
appeal  to  such  high  authority.  It  referred  solely  to  human  passions, 
prejudices,  and  political  events,  and  it  accordingly  declares  that  tho 
Presbyterian  polity  was  established  "  in  this  kingdom  "  for  no  other 
reason  than  that  it  is  "  most  agreeable  to  the  inclinations  of  tho  people !" 

*   Acta  Pari.  Scot.  vol.  vii.  p.  372. 


426  niSTORY  OF  THE 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


STATE    OF  THE    SCOTTISH   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH ANDERSON'S    MORTIFICATION 

PANTONIAN    FUND FRIENDLY     SOCIETY EPISCOPAL    FUND EPISCOPAL 

CHURCH  SOCIETY THE  SNELL  EXHIBITIONS — TRINITY  COLLEGE. 


In  reviewing  the  state  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  from  1831  to 
the  end  of  1842,  it  is  peculiarly  satisfactory  to  record  the  steady  pro- 
gress of  the  congregations  ;  and  this  is  a  subject  which  demands  some 
attention,  because  the  enemies  and  vilifiers  of  the  Church  are  constantly 
endeavouring  to  show  that,  as  an  ecclesiastical  communion,  it  is  limited 
in  point  of  numbers.  Nearly  twenty  congregations  have  been  added  to 
the  Church  in  the  various  dioceses  from  1831  to  1842,  and  though  some 
of  these  are  small,  yet  their  increase  is  annually  perceptible,  and  affords  a 
well  founded  hope  that  every  succeeding  year  will  add  both  to  the 
numbers  of  each  congregation,  and  also  include  several  others.  It 
must  be  remembered,  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  cities  and  large 
towns,  the  members  of  the  Church  are  scattered  over  the  whole  of  Scot- 
land, and  many  of  the  congregations  in  the  villages  and  rural  districts 
are  composed  of  individuals  who  reside  a  considerable  distance  from  their 
respective  places  of  worship.  Some  of  the  clergy  have  also  the  pastoral 
care  of  more  than  one  congregation,  and  extend  their  ministrations  to 
villages  and  districts  in  their  neighbourhoods  where  Episcopalians  are 
located,  though  they  have  no  chapel  for  their  accommodation. 

To  commence  with  the  Diocese  of  Edinburgh,  it  is  true  that  only  two 
congregations  have  been  added  to  the  Church,  between  1831  and  1841. 
— those  of  Trinity  Chapel,  in  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  and  of  Alloa, 
the  neat  chapel  in  the  latter  town  erected  in  1837,  and  Trinity  Chapel 
in  1838.  But  it  must  be  observed  that  the  Diocese  of  Edinburgh  is 
limited  since  the  disjunction  of  Glasgow  and  of  Fife,  the  greater  num- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  427 

ber  of  the  congregations  being  within  the  city  of  Edinburgh,*  and  the 
only  provincial  chapels  those  of  Portobello,  Musselburgh,  Haddington, 
Stirling,  and  Alloa.  In  the  present  divisions  of  the  dioceses  or  districts, 
the  boundaries  of  the  former  Established  Dioceses  are  carefully  recog- 
nised, and  that  of  Edinburgh  was  not  very  extensive  at  the  foundation 
and  erection  of  the  See  by  Charles  I.  in  1633.  In  one  town,  however, 
in  which  no  Episcopal  clergyman  has  been  settled,  and  no  congregation 
has  existed  for  nearly  a  century,  a  strong  desire  is  manifested  by  num- 
bers for  regular  Episcopal  ministrations.  At  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the 
Scottish  Episcopal  Church  Society  in  1840,  the  Right  Hon.  W.  E.  Glad- 
stone, Esq.M.P.,  stated,  towards  the  conclusion  of  his  eloquent  and  in- 
teresting address — "A  highly  respected  clergyman  has  placed  in  my  hands, 
since  I  entered  this  meeting,  a  petition  signed  by  one  hundred  and  twenty 
persons  resident  in  and  about  Dalkeith.  They  are  persons  who  never  have 
enjoyed  the  blessing  of  our  worship  and  ministry  among  them.  They  arc 
persons  who  have  not'inthe  public  eye  been  known  as  an  Episcopal  body. 
They  are  persons  of  humble,  or  of  the  humblest  station.  They  are  per- 
sons not  moved  through  the  influence  or  solicitations  of  the  great,  the 
wealthy,  or  the  noble,  but  by  a  warm  attachment  to  the  Episcopal  Com- 
munion, and  they  are  moving  the  great,  the  wealthy,  and  the  noble,  to 
aid  them  in  giving  effect  to  that  attachment.  Their  petition  is  addressed 
to  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch,  the  Marquis  of  Lothian,  the  Earl  of  Stair, 
Lord  Viscount  Melville,  Mr  Ker  of  Woodburn,  Mr  Wardlaw  Ramsay 
of  Whitehill,  Mr  Burn  Callander  of  Prestonhall,  &c,  and  it  sets  forth 
that—'  We,  the  undersigned  inhabitants  of  the  town  and  neighbour- 
hood of  Dalkeith,  being  bona  fide  members  of  tho  Episcopal  Catholic 
Church,  have  for  a  long  time  lamented  that,  unless  at  considerable  in- 
convenience, we  enjoy  no  opportunity  of  worshipping  Cod  according  to 
that  form  and  ritual  to  which  we  are  sincerely  and  conscientiously  at- 
tached. In  order  to  remove  this  disadvantage,  we  therefore  most  re- 
spectfully appeal  to  you,  soliciting  your  sanction,  concurrence,  and  as- 
sistance, in  the  building  of  an  Episcopal  Chapel,  and  the  establishment 
of  an  Episcopal  congregation  in  the  town  or  vicinity  of  Dalkeith  ;  and 
we  bag  to  inclose  a  copy  of  resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  of  BpifOO- 
palians  in  reference  to  this  subject.     That  yon  will  be  pleased  to  take 

•  The  congregation  at  Leith  i*  included  in  the  Dioce*  of  Glasgow  during  the  < 
eopatt  and  inenmbencj  of  Bishop  Russell. 


428  HISTORY  OF  THE 

this  matter  into  jour  serious  consideration,  that  you  would  confer  on 
the  subject,  and  render  your  co-operation  and  assistance  in  whatever 
way  may  appear  to  you  the  most  desirable  and  effectual,  is  the  humble 
prayer  of,  my  Lords  and  Gentlemen,  your  most  obedient,  humble  ser- 
vants.' Signed  by  one  hundred  and  six  Episcopalians,  to  whom  more 
have  since  been  added." 

The  Diocese  of  Glasgow  next  claims  our  attention,  and  considering 
the  state  in  which  it  was  about  1820,  as  appears  from  the  list  in  the 
Edinburgh  Almanac,  a  very  great  accession  has  been  made  to  the 
Church.  Before  1817,  there  were  only  three  congregations  in  the  whole 
of  the  ancient  archiepiscopal  district,  viz. :  St  Andrew's  Chapel,  of  which 
the  Very  Rev.  William  Routledge,  the  Dean,  has  been  long  the  incum- 
bent, and  a  small  congregation  in  a  rented  hall,  both  in  the  city  of 
Glasgow,  and  the  congregation  of  Dumfries.  In  1817  the  large  con- 
gregation at  Paisley  was  formed  under  the  ministrations  of  the  Rev. 
W.  M.  Wade,  who  encountered  numerous  discouraging  obstacles  before 
he  was  enabled  to  place  it  in  its  present  state  of  stability,  in  the  neat 
and  commodious  Gothic  Chapel  erected  under  his  inspection.  For  some 
years  after  that  period  the  only  other  chapel  in  the  whole  district  was 
that  of  Kelso,  which  was  in  separation  from  the  Church.  Since  1821  the 
large  and  elegant  St  Mary's  Episcopal  Chapel  in  Renfield  Street,  Christ 
Church  in  the  suburb  of  the  Calton,  and  St  Jude's  Episcopal  Chapel  in 
Blythswood  Square,  allin  Glasgow, have  been  erected ;  and  congregations 
formed  at  Greenock,  Helensburgh,  Ayr,  Annan,  and  Peebles.  The  con- 
gregation at  Hamilton  was  constituted  under  the  ministrations  of  the 
Rev.  Alexander  Henderson,  M.A.,  in  1842  ;  in  that  year  the  chapel  at 
Coatbridge,  near  Airdrie,  was  advancing  to  completion  ;  the  formation 
of  a  congregation  at  Jedburgh  was  in  progress,  and  also  one  at  Dun- 
barton,  in  addition  to  which  encouraging  openings  in  other  quarters 

were  anticipated. 

The  Diocese  of  Brechin  acquired  an  extension  in  the  fishing  village 
of  Katerline,  a  village  consisting  entirely  of  fishermen  and  their  families, 
who  have  regularly  belonged  to  the  communion  of  the  Church,  and  who 
formed  part  of  the  congregation  of  Drumlithie,  seven  miles  distant. 
Bishop  Moir's  statement  of  the  circumstances  of  the  fishing  community 
of  Katerline,  read  at  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church  Society  by  Erskine  Douglas  Sandford,  Esq.,  Advocate,  in  1841,  is 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  429 

interesting,  and  is  applicable  to  various  others  similarly  situated. — "  The 
late  incumbent  seeing  the  great  hardship  and  disadvantages  they  la- 
boured under  in  being  at  so  great  a  distance  from  their  place  of  wor- 
ship, and  that  efforts  were  being  made  to  draw  them  away  from  the 
Church,  agreed  at  their  earnest  requests  to  perform  divine  service  on 
Sunday  afternoon  at  Katerline,  in  a  house  belonging  to  the  Coast 
Guard,  which  they  had  fitted  up  for  the  purpose,  having,  through  Lord 
Arbuthnott's  recommendation,  obtained  permission  to  do  so. — The  case 
of  a  number  of  the  members  of  our  Church,  almost  deprived,  by  the 
circumstances  of  their  situation,  of  the  benefits  of  public  worship  and 
pastoral  attention,  strongly  claimed  my  sympathy  and  consideration  ; 
and,  after  much  thought  on  the  subject,  it  is  my  humble  opinion,  that 
the  only  way  of  preserving  these  people  in  the  Communion  of  the 
Church  is  by  settling  a  clergyman  among  them.  This  they  have  ear- 
nestly requested  me  to  endeavour  to  accomplish.  Their  number  is  con- 
siderable, being  by  the  last  return  one  hundred  and  thirty  souls,  of  whom 
fifty  are  communicants.  They  are  chiefly  fishermen,  and  persons  of  so- 
ber and  industrious  habits.  Without  any  assistance  they  have  fitted 
up  in  a  decent  manner  a  place  for  the  celebration  of  divine  service, 
and  they  would  undertake  to  raise  among  themselves  L.30  annually  for 
the  support  of  a  clergyman.  Being  at  a  great  distance  from  the  paro- 
chial school,  they  have  been  obliged  to  employ  a  young  man  to  teach 
their  children,  and  they  have  represented  to  me,  that  it  would  be  of 
great  advantage  to  them,  and  might  help  to  provide  for  a  clergyman's 
maintenance,  if  a  person  could  be  found  to  act  both  as  pastor  and 
schoolmaster.  I  flatter  myself  that  an  application  to  the  Church  So- 
ciety would  not  be  rejected  ;  for  it  is  not  asked  for  the  uncertain  pur- 
pose of  drawing  together  a  congregation  from  other  denominations  of 
Christians,  but  to  provide  the  benefits  of  Christian  communion  to  a 
considerable  number  of  respectable  though  poor  persons,  who  are  warmly 
attached  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  whose  forefathers  adhered  to  it 
under  all  the  vicissitudes  through  which  it  lias  passed  in  this  country. 
1  ma  v  add,  that  Katerline  being  a  good  fishing  station,  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  the  population  will  increase."  Among  the  other  local 
matter-  connected  with  the  Diocese  of  Brechin  may  he  mentioned  the  en- 
largement of  the  chapel  at  Arbroath,  rendered  necessary  by  the  increase 
of  the  congregation  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Rot.  William  I  lender- 


430  HISTORY  OF  THE 

son,  M.  A.,  and  the  auspicious  progress  of  the  union  with  the  Church  of 
the  large  and  important  congregation  of  St  Peter's  Chapel  in  Montrose. 

In  the  Diocese  of  Aberdeen  the  vigilant  care  of  the  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  Skinner  has  added  one  congregation  to  the  Church  at  Inverury, 
where  a  neat  chapel  is  erected,  which  was  consecrated  by  the  Primus 
in  1842.  The  congregation  of  Fraserburgh  reverted  to  the  Diocese  at 
the  death  of  Bishop  Jolly,  and  that  of  Peterhead  at  the  resignation  of 
the  incumbency  by  Bishop  Torry.  The  union  of  St  Paul's  congrega- 
tion in  Aberdeen  with  the  Church  is  previously  noticed. 

In  the  United  Diocese  of  Dunkeld,  Dunblane,  and  Fife,  one  congre- 
gation has  been  added  at  Dunfermline,  and  the  chapel  consecrated  by 
Bishop  Russell,  acting  for  Bishop  Torry,  in  October  1842.  In  various 
parts  of  this  United  Diocese  appearances  are  favourable  to  the  spread 
of  the  Church,  and  doubtless,  when  circumstances  are  matured,  will  be 
duly  encouraged.  In  1842  a  congregation  was  formed  in  the  ancient 
episcopal  city  of  Dunblane. 

In  the  United  Diocese  of  Moray,  Ross,  and  Argyll,  great  accessions 
have  been  made  by  the  unwearied  exertions  of  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
Low.  At  Aberchirder  and  Forres,  in  the  ancient  Diocese  of  Moray, 
congregations  have  been  formed  in  addition  to  those  in  other  places 
during  Bishop  Jolly's  episcopate.  In  1837  Bishop  Low  founded  the 
congregation  at  Carroy,  in  the  Island  of  Skye,  at  which  a  neat  chapel 
is  erected.  At  Stornoway  in  the  Island  of  Lewis  a  congregation  was 
formed  about  the  same  period  ;  the  Rev.  Samuel  Hood  constituted  the 
congregation  at  Rothesay  in  the  Island  of  Bute  ;  in  1842  the  Rev. 
David  Aitchison,  M.  A.,  undertook  the  pastoral  care  of  one  newly  formed 
at  Lochgilphead  in  Argyllshire  ;  and  another  is  in  progress  at  Oban  in 
the  same  county.  All  the  above,  it  is  to  be  observed,  are  additional 
congregations  to  those  who  had  been  some  time  in  existence,  and  most 
of  whom  have  been  constituted  during  Bishop  Low's  episcopate  ;  for  it 
is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  when  the  Bishop  succeeded  Bishop  Macfarlane 
in  the  United  Diocese  of  Ross  and  Argyll  in  1819,  the  number  of  presby- 
ters was  scarcely  one-third  of  those  who  formed  the  clergy  of  the  United 
Diocese  previous  to  the  annexation  of  Moray. 

The  preceding  statistics  respecting  the  increase  of  the  Church  are  not 
mere  vague  assertions,  but  may  be  ascertained  by  any  one  who  consults 
the  lists  of  the  clergy  duly  authenticated  in  the  Edinburgh  Almanac, 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUBCH.  43  L 

and  compares  these  documents  since  1820,  or  even  1830.  Still  the  op- 
ponents of  the  Church  continually  exclaim  that  it  is  a  small  and  limited 
communion  in  proportion  to  a  population  of  nearly  three  millions  in 
Scotland,  and  they  appeal  to  this  fact,  or  rather  their  representations  of 
it,  as  a  proof  that  Episcopacy  is  obnoxious  to  the  great  mass  of  the 
Scottish  people.  It  is  admitted  that  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  is 
comparatively  a  small  communion,  and  it  would  indeed  be  wonderful  if 
it  were  otherwise,  considering  the  difficulties,  prejudices,  and  discourage- 
ments with  which  it  has  had  and  still  has  to  contend.  They  even 
scruple  not  to  assert  that  the  Church  does  not  number  a  larger  popula- 
tion than  25,000  throughout  Scotland,  rabidly  seizing  a  very  erroneous 
and  unfounded  statement  to  that  effect  which  appeared  in  the  Times  news- 
paper in  1842.  In  the  peculiar  circumstances  and  position  of  the  Church, 
it  is  perhaps  impossible  to  obtain  any  thing  like  a  correct  statement  of 
the  numbers  within  the  pale  of  its  communion,  or  of  those  who  profess  to 
belong  to  it,  although  unfortunately  they  neglect  its  services,  of  whom, 
as  in  other  religious  societies,  there  are  too  many,  or  reside  at  such  dis- 
tances in  districts  which  render  their  attendance  almost  impossible. 
In  the  city  of  Glasgow  and  suburbs  alone  the  Episcopalians  wero  esti- 
mated by  Dr  Cleland,  at  the  census  of  1831,  at  8551,  and  as  it  is  not 
likely  that  they  have  decreased,  they  may  be  considered  in  1842  to  have 
amounted  to  10,000.  "Of  these,"  as  was  observed  by  the  Rev.  Ro- 
bert Montgomery  of  St  Jude's,  Glasgow,  in  his  speech  at  the  First  An- 
nual Meeting  of  the  Church  Society  in  1839,  "  a  large  proportion  are 
miserably  poor,  without  the  means,  and  what  is  worse,  without  the  in- 
clination, of  supplying  themselves  with  spiritual  instruction.  In  Ander- 
ston  there  are  at  least  500  souls  attached  to  the  Episcopal  Communion. 
Of  these  only  fifty-four  individuals  are  in  the  habit  of  attending  any 
church,  and  a  large  number  assign  the  want  of  clothing  as  the  reason 
why  they  absent  themselves."  The  following  passage  from  the  same 
eloquent  appeal  is  sufficiently  explanatory  of  the  state  of  the  Church, 
and  illustrates  the  melancholy  condition  under  which  the  poorer  Episco- 
palian, aiv  labouring  along  the  West  coast.  "  In  the  town  of  (irecn- 
Ock,  tor  instance,  owing  to  the  establishment  of  various  manufactures, 
then-  has  of  late  yean  been  a  great  influx  of  Episcopalians.  These  con- 
Bisl    din  llv  of  hatters  fn>m    Lancaster— manufacturers  of  earthenware 

from  the  potteries— glass-blowers  from  Newcastle—  ohain-oabk-maken 


432  HISTORY  OF  THE 

from  Liverpool,  besides  a  large  number  of  Irish  Protestants,  and  many 
sugar-boilers  from  Germany,  members  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  The 
number  of  these  individuals  may  be  safely  stated  at  800,  the  great  major- 
ity of  whom  are  in  the  very  humblest  walks  of  life,  and  totally  without  the 
means  of  spiritual  instruction  and  superintendence.  They  reject  Pres- 
byterian baptism  and  communion,  and  although  there  is  an  Episcopal 
chapel  in  Greenock,  the  congregation  is  chiefly  composed  of  the  wealthier 
classes.  Along  the  whole  coast,  and  in  the  Northern  and  Western 
Highlands,  including  Argyllshire,  are  many  poor  Episcopalians  (the 
exact  number  of  which  is  still  unascertained),  who  are  totally  without 
the  means  of  supplying  themselves  with  spiritual  instruction.  It  is 
true,  many  of  the  leading  proprietors  in  these  districts  belong  to  the 
Episcopal  Church,  but  they  are  too  far  separate  from  each  other  to  ren- 
der the  establishment  of  places  of  worship  a  practicable  measure." 

Among  the  upper  classes  in  Scotland  the  Church  has  ever  numbered 
many  of  it  members.  It  is  well  ascertained,  and  has  not  been  denied, 
that  three-fourths  of  the  landed  proprietors  of  Scotland  are  Epis- 
copalians. The  Peerage  of  Scotland  in  1842  consisted  of  eight  Dukes, 
four  Marquises,  forty-two  Earls,  six  Viscounts,  and  twenty- three  Ba- 
rons : — in  all  eighty-four  members,  including  one  Baroness,  yet  of 
these  noblemen  probably  not  above  twelve  are  Presbyterians.*  Of 
the  Peers  and  Peeresses  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland  connected  with  Scotland,  and  for  the  most  part  pos- 
sessing extensive  estates  in  the  various  counties,  who,  in  1842,  were  in 
number  twenty-seven,  t  only  three,  or  at  most  four,  are  considered  to 
be  Presbyterians,  viz.,  the  Earl  of  Camperdown,  the  Earl  of  Minto, 
Lord  Campbell,  and  Lord  Dunfermline.  Probably  Lords  Abercromby 
and  Panmure  may  be  added,  yet  even  these  six  noblemen  when  in  Eng- 
land conform  to  the  Church  of  England.  In  fact,  with  probably  the 
exception  of  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  the  Marquis  of  Breadalbane,  and  Lord 
Belhaven,  the  most  of  the  above  mentioned  noblemen  may  be  designat- 
ed Establishment  men,  who  conform  on  either  side  of  the  Tweed  to  what 

*  Only  two  Scottish  Peers  are  Roman  Catholics,  viz.,  the  Earls  of  Newburgh 
and  Traquair.  The  former  appears  to  have  no  property  in  Scotland.  The  reli- 
gious opinions  of  a  few  others  are  not  well  known,  but  they  do  not  own  themselves 
to  be  Presbyterians. 

f  One  of  these,  Lord  Lovat,  is  a  Roman  Catholic. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  433 

they  consider  the  law  of  the  land.  A  very  large  proportion  of  the  Ba- 
ronets of  Scotland,  and  of  the  Baronets  of  Great  Britain  connected  with 
Scotland,  are  known  to  be  members  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  not  a 
few  of  the  others  are  also  merely  Establishment  men,  who  deem  it  their 
duty  to  support  that  of  Scotland  and  the  Church  of  England  simply 
for  the  sake  of  example  and  propriety. 

These  facts  are  mentioned  not  in  the  spirit  of  boasting  exultation  or 
of  pride,  because  those  noblemen  and  gentlemen  who  are  avowed  mem- 
bers  of  the  Church  have  often  been  severely  attacked,  even  by  Presby- 
terians, for  allowing  its  clergy  in  the  rural  districts  so  long  to  continue 
in  a  condition  of  poverty  which  is  scarcely  known  even  among  the  com- 
mon dissenting  sects.  This  charge  is  unfortunately  too  true,  but  the 
liberal  donations  which  many  of  them  have  given  to  the  Scottish  Epis- 
copal Church  Society  have  to  a  certain  extent  obviated  what  was  un- 
doubtedly at  least  a  matter  of  surprise.  Yet,  since  the  Presbyterian  op- 
ponents of  the  Church  often  dwell  on  their  imaginary  correct  information 
respecting  its  statistics  as  it  regards  the  number  of  members,  how  does 
it  happen  that  their  system  is  so  little  appreciated  by  their  own  country- 
men in  England  ?  What  may  be  the  number  of  Scotsmen  domiciled  in 
England  it  is  probably  impossible  to  determine,  but  without  referring  to 
Liverpool,  Manchester,  and  other  large  towns,  it  was  long  since  calculat- 
ed that  London  alone  contained  upwards  of  100,000  Scotsmen  and  their 
descendants,  which  must  be  admitted  to  be  a  very  moderate  computation. 
Now,  supposing  that  the  majority  of  these  Scotsmen  were  or  professed  to  be 
Presbyterians  when  they  went  to  England,  is  it  possible  that  thegreat  mass 
of  them  have  become  irreligious  ?  The  city  of  Edinburgh  and  Leith,  by 
the  census  of  1841,  contained  a  population  of  only  163,720,  without  in- 
cluding children  in  charitable  institutions,  persons  in  hospitals,  asylums, 
and  the  Military  in  the  Castle,  who  may  comprise  about  1200  or  1300 
more.  In  that  city  and  Leith,  with  such  a  population,  which  is  by  no 
mean-;  increasing,  there  are  eight  Episcopal  congregations  attended  by 
persons  of  all  ranks,  four  at  least  of  which  are  large,  viz.,  St  Paul's, 
St  John's  St  James's,  and  Trinity  Chapel.  In  tho  city  of  London, 
with  its  100,000  Scotsmen,  there  arc  only  six  placet  of  worship  in  con- 
nection with  the  Scottish  Presbyterian  Establishment,  which,  it  is  well 
known,  arc  wrv  indifferently  attended,  and  not  containing  accommoda- 
tion, if  all  were  tilled,  for  5000  persons  ;  but  as  probably  not  above  the 

2  B 


434  HISTORY  OF  THE 

half  of  that  number  constantly  or  even  occasionally  attend,  here  is  a  com- 
plete proof  of  the  all  but  complete  desertion  from  or  renunciation  of 
Presbyterianism  in  London.  It  would  be  absurd  to  conclude  that,  sup- 
posing two-thirds  of  the  100,000  Scotsmen  in  the  British  metropolis  had 
been  originally  Presbyterians,  they  must  all  be  living  without  religious 
instruction  of  any  kind,  except  the  2500  or  3000  who  continue  to  resort 
to  the  six  meeting-houses  called  the  "  Scotch  churches/'  It  appears 
that  the  Seceders  in  London  have  four  meeting-houses,  so  that  allowing 
them  2000  persons,  which  is  much  more  than  the  collective  average, 
here  are  not  5000  persons  who  adhere  to  or  support  the  system  in  which 
they  had  been  educated.  The  truth  is,  that  though  much  indifference 
to  and  neglect  of  religion  prevails  among  the  Scotch  in  London,  particu- 
larly the  operatives,  thousands  have  conformed  to  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land.    Of  this  fact  many  examples  could  be  given. 

Nor  is  this  desertion  of  the  Presbyterian  banner  solely  confined  to 
London.  The  large,  important,  and  populous  town  and  sea-port  of  Liver- 
pool has  only  four  Scottish  meeting-houses,  and  in  contrast  to  this  the 
city  of  Aberdeen,  with  probably  not  a  fourth  or  fifth  part  of  the  popula- 
tion, has  three  Episcopal  Chapels,  two  of  them  very  large  congregations. 
Manchester  has  only  two  meeting-houses ;  and  Glasgow,  the  Scottish  Man- 
chester, has  four  Episcopal  Chapels.  Newcastle,  nearer  the  Border,  has 
three  meeting-houses,  but  it  may  be  questionable  whether  their  congrega- 
tions are  so  flourishing  as  the  large,  influential,  and  important  congrega- 
tion of  St  Paul's  Chapel,  Dundee.  With  the  two  meeting-houses  in  Ber- 
wick-upon-Tweed may  be  contrasted  the  Episcopal  congregations  at  Ar- 
broath, Montrose,  or  Inverness.  In  short,  it  appears  from  the  Edinburgh 
Almanac  for  1842,  that  in  a  country  containing  apopulation  of  16,000,000, 
the  "  Synod  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  England  in  connection  with 
the  Church  of  Scotland,"  contains  only  forty -four  congregations,  served 
by  as  many  ministers,  while  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  has  between 
ninety  and  one  hundred  congregations,  some  of  them  doubtless  small,  but 
many  of  them  very  large,  in  a  country  which  does  not  contain  a  popula- 
tion of  3,000,000  ! 

It  appears  that  in  1842  there  were  in  addition  twenty-five  congrega- 
tions throughout  Northumberland,  in  "  communion"  with  the  Scottish 
Establishment,  though  apparently  not  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
"  Synod  ;"  but  this  very  little  affects  the  preceding  statistical  facts,  con- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  435 

sidering  the  utter  disproportion  of  the  population  of  the  two  countries  ; 
and,  besides,  numbers  of  these  twenty-five  Northumberland  congregations 
are  well  known  to  be  very  small,  and  struggling  with  pecuniary  diffi- 
culties. The  Seceders  had  also  between  forty  and  fifty  congregations 
in  England,  but  as  that  large  body  of  Scottish  Presbyterian  Dissenters 
have  no  connection  with  the  Establishment,  their  English  congregations, 
small  as  many  of  them  are  in  point  of  adherents,  cannot  be  taken  into  ac- 
count. The  reader  will  thus  perceive  that  there  is  no  great  cause  of  triumph 
on  the  part  of  the. opponents  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  which,  un- 
like their  system  in  England,  is  annually  increasing  in  numbers  and  re- 
spectability. It  is  needless  to  allude  to  those  who  style  themselves  peculi- 
arly English  Presbyterians,  who  have  lapsed  into  miserable  Socinianism. 
Thus  far,  then,  as  it  respects  the  state  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church,  and  the  "  contendings"  of  its  enemies  respecting  the  numbers 
of  its  members  and  congregations.  A  thorough  investigation  of  the 
religious  statistics  of  Scotland  would  be  both  curious  and  important, 
and  would  probably  astonish  those  who  are  continually  declaiming  about 
the  hereditary  dislike  which  the  Scottish  people  generally  are  alleged 
to  cherish  towards  the  Episcopal  Church.  That  such  long  existed,  and 
that  such  exists  to  a  very  considerable  extent,  studiously  fomented  by 
parties  to  preserve  their  influence  and  domination,  is  not  denied,  but 
succeeding  generations  are  viewing  matters  in  a  different  light,  and  a 
spirit  of  inquiry  is  abroad  which  all  the  misrepresentations,  calumnies, 
and  bold  perversions  of  facts  circulated  against  that  Church  cannot  pre- 
vent. If  even  Wodrow  in  his  day  laments  the  incipient  leanings  of  the 
people  to  what  he  calls  a  "  moderate  Episcopacy  without  ceremonies," 
and  records  with  regret  their  "  growing  attachment  to  the  English  Ser- 
vice," such  feelings  arc  now  more  widely  diffused  ;  and  there  are  many 
thousands  in  Scotland,  who,  though  they  continue  members  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Establishment,  unhesitatingly  admit  that  they  admire  the  ritual 
and  service  of  the  Church.*'     It  is  easy  to  form  theories,  and  set  forth 

•  Many  incidental  occurrences  prove  this  statement,  which  may  be  verified  by  What 
is  often  mentioned  in  private  society.  When,  for  instance,  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don uTMOhcd  in  St  Paul's  and  St  John's  Episcopal  Chapels  in  Edinburgh,  on  Sunday, 
the  25th  of  September  1842,  a  part  of  the  year  in  which  most  of  the  members  of  the 
Church,  of  the  Upper  classes,  in  the  Scottish  metropolis,  arc  at  their  country  quarters, 
the  crowded  congregations  were  to  a  great  extent  composed  of  respectable  Presby- 
terians. 


43G  HISTORY  OF  THE 

dogmatical  assertions.  The  sentiments  uttered  by  the  Right  Hon.  W. 
E.  Gladstone,  in  his  speech  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Scottish  Epis- 
copal Church  in  1840,  are  neither  visionary  nor  unfounded.  On  that  oc- 
casion the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Low  presided,  and  Mr  Gladstone  thus 
proceeded: — "  Xow,  Right  Rev.  Sir,  when  we  contemplate  the  aspect 
of  this  Church,  we  shall  see  that  the  work  before  us  is  indeed  a  great 
work.  And  yet  I  trust  from  day  to  day  new  wants  will  be  revealed  in 
different  parts  of  the  country  ;  for  I  am  convinced  that  as  new  wants  are 
revealed,  new  energies  will  be  put  forth  for  their  sugply,  and  with  the 
operations  of  the  Society  will  be  multiplied  the  blessings  that  have  at- 
tended them.  I  am  one  of  those  who  can  find  many  consolations  under 
our  present  circumstances.  It  is  difficult  for  mortal  man  to  anticipate 
the  course  of  events.  Yet  I  cannot  but  cherish  the  belief  that  this 
Church  has  an  important  mission  confided  to  her.  I  cannot  venture  to 
conjecture  what  her  destiny  for  the  next  half  century  may  be.  Yet  I 
feel  that  it  will  be  as  distinct  from  the  destiny  of  the  last  half  century, 
as  that  was  from  the  destiny  of  the  preceding  half  century  of  legal 
suspicion  and  prescription.  It  is  true,  circumstances  are  greatly 
altered.  It  is  true  that  we  stand  in  the  position  of  a  Church  receiv- 
ing no  aid  from  the  State.  It  is  true  we  have  not  the  advantage  of 
those  temporal  means  which  we  once  possessed.  But  with  those  tem- 
poral means  have  we  not  got  rid  of  many  evils  ?  There  was  a  time,  in 
the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  when  Episcopacy  was  presented  to  the 
people  of  Scotland,  but  presented  in  connection  with  an  arbitrary 
system  of  civil  government,  which  was  calculated  justly  to  offend 
the  minds  of  men,  and  to  throw  discredit  on  pure  religion.  Is  it 
no  advantage  to  have  escaped  from  that  unfortunate  association  ?  We 
have  also  escaped  from  a  class  of  prejudices  which  at  a  later  time  pre- 
vailed, and  with  respect  to  which  I  must  say,  that  though  we  may  in 
some  sense  condemn  them,  yet  we  cannot  wonder  that  they  existed — 
those  prejudices,  I  mean,  which  prevailed  when  Episcopacy  was  consi- 
dered synonymous  with  disaffection  to  the  established  settlement  of  the 
succession  to  the  throne.  We  are  free  from  those  disadvantages,  and 
we  now  stand  on  grounds  precisely  ecclesiastical  and  spiritual — on 
grounds  from  which,  I  trust,  Right  Reverend  Sir,  you  and  your  brethren 
will  never  be  moved.     It  is  true,  that  in  being  removed  from  the  posi- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  437 

tion  of  an  establishment  we  have  not  gained  all  those  facilities  for  the 
warfare  of  the  moment  which  some  other  systems  may  possess.  There 
are  some  means  of  popularity  which  others  reputed  Dissenters  from  the 
National  Establishment  may  employ,  but  which  the  ministers  of  this 
Church  have  never  called,  and  never  can  call,  to  their  aid.  They  can- 
not accommodate  themselves  to  the  prejudices,  the  self-will,  the  self-love 
of  their  flocks.  They  cannot  flatter  the  lust  of  power  which  lies  so  deep 
in  the  human  heart.  They  cannot  say,  '  You  are  judges  of  our  doc- 
trine ;  we  stand  here,  that  you  may  do  what  you  desire  with  us.'  On  the 
contrary,  they  must  hold  out  the  idea  of  the  Church  to  their  flocks  as 
something  superior  to  us  and  to  themselves — as  something  independent 
of  the  will  of  man — as  an  historical  institution  delivered  down  through 
countless  ages  from  the  very  period  and  from  the  very  hand  of  Christ 
himself.  And  if  they  cannot  appeal  to  this  self-love,  which  is  a  great 
power  in  the  hands  of  some  for  procuring  temporary  popularity  and  suc- 
cess for  an  institution,  far  less  can  they  resort  to  other  weapons  of  a 
much  more  questionable  character.  There  is  another  kind  of  warfare 
which  is  now  waged  both  keenly  and  rudely  against  religious  establish- 
ments. They  cannot  join  with  those  who  term  themselves  the  friends  of 
the  Voluntary  principle  in  this  warfare.  On  the  contrary,  I  feel  con- 
vinced that  not  only  no  strength  of  preference  for  the  Episcopal  consti- 
tution, but  that  no  sense,  however  strong,  of  the  exclusiveness  of  the  duty 
which  in  a  religious  view  we  owe  it,  will  tempt  us  to  lend  a  hand  to 
aid  in  the  establishment  of  a  principle  which  must  terminate  in  social 
atheism.  And  this  sentiment  I  state  where  I  now  stand  with  the  same 
fearlessness  of  contradiction,  as  1  would,  if  it  were  possible,  in  an  as- 
sembly of  our  Presbyterian  brethren,  so  convinced  am  I  that  we  feel  as 
one  man  with  regard  to  this  principle.  These,  Right  Reverend  Sir, 
are  considerations  on  which  I  have  thought  it  right  for  me  to  touch, 
feeling  myself  precluded,  by  the  terms  of  the  resolution  committed  to 
me,  from  entering  into  topics  arising  out  of  the  operations  of  the  So- 
cietj.  I  have  considered  some  of  those  particulars  in  which  the  Epis- 
copal Church  of  Scotland  has  apparently  sustained  great  loss  from  the 
withdrawal  of  temporal  advantages,  though,  as  I  believe,  it  has  gained 
along  with  that  loaf  what  more  than  counterbalance!  it.  lint  there 
arc  other  advantages  which  are  greater  than  merely  negative  advantagi 
I  cannot  but  highly  value  those  Ueasinga  of  religious  peace  which  dis. 


438  HISTORY  OF  THE 

tinguish  this  Church,  that  harmony  and  union  which  have  brought  us 
here  in  regular  ecclesiastical  order,  in  presence  and  with  the  sanction  of 
our  spiritual  governors,  to  unite  heart  and  hand,  without  any  distinction 
of  sentiment  or  purpose,  in  a  cause  which  is  so  intimately  connected 
with  the  prosperity  of  the  Church.  I  am  confident  of  a  continuance  of  that 
order  and  spiritual  harmony  and  peace,  because  it  does  not  rest  on  any 
thing  contingent  or  peculiar  to  one  season  rather  than  another — because 
it  is  founded  on  what  is  both  original  and  fundamental  in  our  Church 
polity.     And  shall  we  believe  that  other  fruits  than  these  will  ever  be 
reaped  where  men  shall  accept  of  the  treasure  which  God  hath  given 
them,  instead  of  substituting  devices  of  their  own  ?  In  the  present  day 
it  is  impossible  not  to  feel  that  we  ought  to  be  moved  to  the  most  pro- 
found thankfulness,  when  we  behold  the  distraction  which  is  at  present 
pervading  the  land,  and  rending  the  national  establishment  of  religion. 
If  I  allude  to  those  divisions  at  all,  I  do  so  from  no  disposition  to  exult 
in  their  existence.     Far  be  it  from  me.     On  the  contrary,  in  alluding 
to  them  I  would  say  that  it  is  far  easier  to  point  out  the  evils  connected 
with  their  existence  than  to  blame  the  agents  on  this  side  or  that.   I  am  not 
one  of  those  who  believe  that  ambition  or  vanity  on  one  side,  or  inertness 
or  torpor  on  the  opposite  side,  are  the  causes  of  those  distractions.     On 
the  contrary,  I  believe  that  the  roots  lie  far  deeper  ;  and  we  who  are  free 
from  them  are  bound  to  express  our  gratitude  to  God  that  we  are  placed 
within  a  sphere  which  they  seem  never  to  disturb.     It  is  said,  indeed, 
by  some  that  Episcopacy  is  a  plant  that  can  take  no  root  in  Scotland. 
So  far  as  I  have  looked  into  the  history  of  Scotland,  I  must  say  that  1 
am  not  convinced  of  the  truth  of  that  statement.     Let  me  see  Episcopacy 
tried  on  its  own  merits,  and  then  I  will  abide  by  the  issue.     But  when 
Episcopacy  was  mixed  up  with  civil  or  secondary  considerations,  it  did 
not  stand  on  its  own  merits.     It  is  well  known  that  among  the  rich  and 
noble  of  the  land  a  large  proportion  aro  adherents  of  our  Church  ;  but 
it  is  supposed  that  there  is  something  in  Episcopacy  peculiarly  repug- 
nant to  the  common  people.     But  the  nature  of  the  people  of  Scotland 
is  human  nature  ;  and  the  nature  of  Episcopacy  is,  if  our  belief  be 
sound,  according  to  the  nature  of  that  scheme  which  God  has  ordained 
to  redeem  human  nature.     And  let  us  not  be  told  that  it  will  not  take 
root  in  the  soil  of  this  land,  if  it  be  indeed  a  plant  which  God  hath 
planted.     We  are  not  left  in  this  matter  to  consider  mere  general  pro- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  439 

babilities,  or  to  rely  upon  such  anticipations  as  faith  might  suggest,  but 
the  evidence  we  would  entertain  is  that  afforded  by  a  number  of  cheer- 
ing indications.     Enough  has  already  transpired,  since  the  foundation 
of  this  Society,  to  render  it  impossible  for  any  man  to  venture  upon 
saying  at  this  moment  to  what  extent  Episcopacy  is  cherished  in  the 
hearts  of  Scotsmen."     At  that  meeting  Sir  John  M'Niel  thus  elo- 
quently concluded  his  powerful   address  : — "  Remember  the  unequal 
struggle  your  fathers  long  maintained,  that  they  might  transmit  to  you 
as  an  inheritance  the  place  in  the  Church  which  you  are  now  met  to 
aid  in  entailing  on  your  children.     I  wish  I  could  call  to  mind  the  elo- 
quent and  impressive  terms  in  which  I  and  many  of  you  lately  heard 
allusion  made  to  the  struggles  which  our  Church  has  survived.     We 
were  told  how,  in  poverty  and  neglect,  without  ambition  to  excite,  with- 
out fame  to  reward  them,  that  scattered  remnant  of  a  Christian  flock 
endured  all  hardships  and  all  privations  for  conscience-sake,  and  endured 
unto  the  end.     And  now  that  better  days  have  come— that  persecution 
has  ceased  and  contumely  has  passed  away — that  the  sun  of  prosperity 
has  shone  upon  some,  and  the  bitterness  of  contention  is  forgotten  by 
all,  how  small  are  the  sacrifices  we  are  called  upon  to  make  compared 
with  those  which  were  cheerfully  made  by  the  men  to  whom,  under  Pro- 
vidence, we  owe  the  preservation  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church? 
Living  under  the  reign  of  a  beneficent  Sovereign,  under  a  Government 
as  careful  of  the  rights  of  the  people  as  of  the  prerogatives  of  the  Crown, 
and  under  impartial  laws  equally  administered  for   the  protection  of 
all,  we  liavo  no  hardships — no  privations  to  endure — no  scorn  to  en- 
counter— no  persecution  to  dread.     Respected  but  not  feared — unaided 
but  unopposed — we  arc  left  at  full  liberty  to  repair  what  has  been  pre- 
served to  us  of  the  sacred  edifice  in  which  we  have  found  shelter.     To 
this  the  Society  is  pledged  by  its  acts,  and  I  have  too  much  confidence 
in  you  to  doubt  that  the  pledge  will  be  amply  redeemed." 

The  Institutions  peculiarly  connected  with  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
<  lmrcli  are,  though  few,  of  considerable  importance.  To  several  of  the 
congregations  belong  small  bequests  and  endowments,  known  in  Scot- 
land l»v  (lie  quaint  name  of  "  martificationt"  left  or  granted  by  pious 
individuals.  These  are  generally  added  to  the  stipends  of  the  official 
Lng  incumbents.     The  most  prominent  of  such  bequests  is  "  Anderson's 

Mortification,"    eoiiH>tin<:   <>i    one    by  a   gentleman   of  that    name    in 


440  HISTOKY  OF  THE 

Aberdeen,  the  legal  interest  of  which  was  ordered  by  the  testator  to  be 
divided  into  four  equal  portions,  and  each  assigned  to  one  of  the  clergy 
of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  officiating  in  the  four  University  cities 
of  Aberdeen,  Edinburgh,  Glasgow,  and  St  Andrews.  It  is  said  that 
the  sum  thus  annually  paid  amounts  to  L.10.* 

The  Pantonian  Fund  is  designated  from  Dr  Panton,  who  left  certain 
property  to  the  Church  for  the  benefit  of  the  poorer  clergy.  It  is  vested 
in  Trustees,  who  arrange  the  distribution  of  the  proceeds.  Connected 
with  this  Fund  is  the  Pantonian  Professorship  of  Divinity,  founded  and 
endowed  by  the  same  benevolent  individual.  The  Professor  has  the 
control  of  the  now  large  and  valuable  library  for  the  use  of  the  clergy 
and  theological  students,  placed  in  commodious  premises  in  Hill  Street, 
Edinburgh.  The  sum  required  for  the  purchase  of  the  house  fitted  up 
as  the  library  was  collected  by  subscriptions  and  donations,  among 
which  those  of  the  late  Bishop  Walker,  the  late  Rev.  Alexander  Cruick- 
shank  of  Muthill,  and  of  Bishop  Low,  were  munificent,  each  having 
subscribed  L.100.  This  library  contains  the  collection,  chiefly  theolo- 
gical, of  Bishop  Jolly.  A  suitable  lecture-room  is  fitted  up  for  the  Pro- 
fessors of  Divinity  and  Church  History,  the  latter  of  whom  holds  the 
Lectureship  on  the  Madras  Sytem  of  education,  founded  and  endowed 
by  the  late  Rev.  Andrew  Bell,  LL.B.,  Prebendary  of  Westminster.  It 
may  be  here  mentioned  that  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  is,  ex  officio,  one 
of  the  three  Patrons  of  the  Madras  College,  St  Andrews,  the  princely 
bequest  and  endowment  of  Dr  Bell.  The  others  are  the  Lord  Justice- 
Clerk  and  the  Sheriff  of  the  county  of  Fife.  The  Bishop  of  Aberdeen 
is  partly  patron  of  a  Bursary  in  Marischal  College,  founded  by  Alex- 
ander Scott  of  Craibstone,  who  "mortified"  the  interest  of  L.500 
for  four  years  to  the  son  of  "  any  poor  clergyman  of  the  Scottish  Epis- 
copal Communion,  who  is  meant  to  be  brought  up  and  educated  for  the 
ministry  of  that  Church  ;"  and,  failing  an  applicant  of  that  description, 
"  then  to  any  other  young  man  in  needy  circumstances  who  intends  to 
be  brought  up  for  the  ministry  of  that  Church."  This  gentleman  also 
mortified  a  similar  sum  as  a  bursary  for  the  son  of  any  poor  minister 
of  the  Presbyterian  Establishment ;  failing  whom,  to  one  whose  father  was 

*    Evidence  of  the  Rev.  C.  J.  Lyon,  M.A.,  before  the  Commissioners  of  Religious 
Instruction  in  Scotland,  Sixth  Report,  1839,  p.  505. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  441 

or  is  a  resident  in  Huntly  ;  failing  whom,  to  one  who  belongs  to  the  dis- 
trict included  within  the  limits  of  the  Presbytery  of  Strathbogie.  The 
Bishop  of  Aberdeen  presents  to  the  one,  as  already  mentioned,  and  the 
Presbytery  of  Strathbogie  to  the  other.* 

Among  the  various  schools  connected  with  the  Church  in  the  several 
dioceses  is  the  Episcopal  Free  School,  attached  to  St  James'  Chapel, 
Edinburgh,  endowed  by  the  bequest  of  Colonel  Scott  of  L.2000,  for  the 
purpose  of  "  educating  boys  and  girls  according  to  the  principles  of  the 
Scottish  Episcopal  Church,"  the  interest  of  which  constitutes  the  sa- 
lary of  the  teacher.  The  children,  upwards  of  one  hundred  in  number, 
regularly  attend  divine  service  in  the  chapel,  and  are  under  the  super- 
intendence of  the  incumbent. 

Of  a  more  general  and  comprehensive  nature  is  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Friendly  Society,  already  noticed  as  instituted  in  1793,  in  consequence 
of  the  Act  of  the  Legislature  for  the  encouragement  of  Friendly  Socie- 
ties. The  objects  of  this  Society  are  previously  stated.  The  business 
is  transacted  at  Aberdeen,  in  which  city  the  annual  meeting  is  held  to 
audit  the  accounts,  and  a  general  meeting  every  third  year,  when  all 
the  members  are  expected  to  be  present,  under  penalty  of  a  fine  unless 
the  excuse  is  valid.  The  President  must  always  be  the  Bishop  of  Aber- 
deen, the  other  Bishops  who  are  members  being  Vice-Presidents  ac- 
cording to  seniority  of  consecration,  the  Primus  taking  precedence. 
The  contributions  enjoined  to  be  paid  annually  by  members  is  the  small 
sum  of  L.2  for  fifteen  years,  after  which  no  farther  one  is  required. 
The  articles  and  regulations  of  the  Society  were  revised  at  the  triennial 
meeting  in  1828,  when  it  was  enjoined  that  all  those  clergymen  of  Scot- 
tish ordination  serving  cures  in  the  Church  must  enter  within  three 
years  after  their  ordination  as  deacons  or  priests,  the  obligation  on  the 
part  of  deacons  being  optional  till  advanced  to  the  priesthood,  otherwise 
they  cannot  afterwards  be  admitted.  All  clergymen  of  English  and 
Irish  ordination  must  enter  within  three  years  after  induction,  failing 
which  they  are  excluded.  The  non-payment  of  the  annual  contribu- 
tions and  fines  for  three  years  forfeits  all  the  privileges  and  benefits  of 
the  Society.  By  the  care  and  assiduity  of  the  office  bearers,  the  origi- 
nal stock,   consisting  of  the  balance  of  the  money  subscribed  to  defni  v 

■  Second  Report  of  tlio  University  Commissioner*,  1839,  vol.  xxix.  p.   I  9,  20. 


442  HISTORY  OF  THE 

the  expenses  of  the  repeal  of  the  Penal  Laws,  increased  by  legacies  and 
donations  from  benevolent  individuals,  has  greatly  increased,  and  the 
Society  has  continued  to  flourish  beyond  the  anticipations  of  its  most 
sanguine  projectors.  A  part  of  the  funds  is  vested  in  Government  stock, 
but  the  greater  portion  is  lodged  in  the  Bank  of  England  under  the 
Friendly  Society  Act.  The  participants  of  the  Society  are  the  widows 
and  children  of  the  members,  though  a  provision  is  also  made  for  the 
assistance  of  indigent  clergymen  whenever  the  annuities  to  widows 
amount  to  L.30  per  annum.  The  annuities  to  widows  are  raised  L.5 
for  every  sum  of  L.500  the  Society  increases  available  for  all  its  pur- 
poses. The  surviving  children  of  a  member  who  is  a  widower  receive  a 
balance  of  ten  years'  annuity  ;  and,  if  no  will  is  left,  that  sum  is  divided 
equally  among  them.  A  widow  forfeits  her  annuity  if  she  marries  a 
person  who  is  not  a  member  of  the  Society. 

The  objects  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Fund,  instituted  in  1806,  are 
more  varied  and  extensive.  It  is  already  stated  that  it  originated  with 
some  zealous  laymen  of  rank  and  influence  in  Edinburgh  and  elsewhere, 
one  of  the  most  active  of  whom  was  Sir  William  Forbes,  Bart.  The 
reasons  for  the  institution  of  this  Fund,  as  stated  in  a  Memorial  drawn 
up  by  Sir  William  Forbes,  and  addressed  to  the  Episcopal  nobility  and 
gentry,  evinced  an  attachment  to  the  Church  worthy  of  admiration.  It 
was  to  establish  a  fund,  by  appeals  to  the  friends  of  the  Church  in 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  which  would  tend  to  lessen  the  expenses  of 
the  Bishops  when  visiting  their  Dioceses,  and  afford  some  pecuniary  as- 
sistance to  the  more  necessitous  of  the  inferior  clergy.  "  As  all  income 
arising  from  the  State,"  says  Sir  James  Allen  Park,  in  his  Memoir 
of  the  excellent  William  Stevens,  Esq.,  "  was  cut  down  at  the  Revolu- 
tion, these  reverend  persons,  bishops,  as  well  as  priests,  had  nothing  to 
rely  on  but  the  emoluments  arising  from  their  congregations,  which 
were  often  so  limited  in  number,  and  in  such  narrow  circumstances, 
that  the  stipends  of  many  of  these  pious  and  exemplary  men  did  not  ex- 
ceed the  wages  of  a  day  labourer.  It  could  not,  therefore,  but  be  a  mat- 
ter of  regret  to  every  well  disposed  Christian — indeed  to  every  feeling 
heart — to  see  those  who  had  a  liberal  education,  and  who  filled  the  dis- 
tinguishing station,  whatever  the  worldling  may  think,  of  ambassadors 
of  their  blessed  Master,  with  such  pitiful  incomes.''  A  committee  was 
appointed  in  London,  consisting  of  well  known  and  tried  friends  of  the 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  443 

Church,  and  in  England  the  Fund  was  munificently  supported.     The 
illustrious  Bishop  Horsley  recommended  it  in  a  sermon  replete  with  his 
powerful  reasoning.     Many  of  the  Bishops  and  clergy,  the  laity  of 
various  ranks  and  professions,  the  Universities,  particularly  Oxford, 
and  individuals  in  private  life,  came  forwjtrd  liberally  in  support  of  an 
institution  so  Christian  in  its  purposes.     By  their  exertions,  the  sums 
collected  from  1806  to  1810  amounted  to  L. 12,077 — which  sufficiently 
evinced  the  sympathy  manifested  towards  a  brancli  of  the  Church  Ca- 
tholic which   had   experienced   so  many  vicissitudes   and  privations. 
More  than  the  sum  of  L.1600  was  subscribed  by  the  Bishops  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and,  exclusive  of  the  contributions  of  the  various 
Colleges  in  Oxford,  the  University  gave  L.300.    The  late  Bishop  Heber, 
then  a  private  clergyman,  and  the  late  Archdeacon  Daubeny,  contribut- 
ed together  L.700.     Mrs  Sheppard  of  Arnport,  a  benevolent  lady  well 
known  in  the  Church  of  England,  transmitted  the  munificent  sum  of 
L.1000.     The  Bishops  of  Dromore,  Ferns,  Killaloe,  and  Clogher,  each 
subscribed  L.50,  and  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  L.250.     More  recently, 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  two  years  after  his  removal  from  the 
See  of  London  to  the  Primacy  in  1828,  sent  L.200.    The  Fund  is  vest- 
ed in  a  permanent  committee  of  nine  Trustees,  who  are  laymen,  with 
the  power  of  filling  up  vacancies,  and  are  subject  in  the  management  to 
certain  rules  specified  in  the  deed,  which  were  approved  by  the  contri- 
butors, who  elect  the  Trustees,  with  whom  the  Bishops  are  associated. 
These  rules  can  only  be  altered  by  a  general  meeting  of  the  contribu- 
tors, and  of  the  heirs-male  of  such  as  are  deceased.     This  general  meet- 
ing is  held  on  the  second  Monday  of  February  once  in  twenty  years. 
The  principal  sum  vested  in  the  Trustees  has  been  considerably  increas- 
ed by  donations  and  subscriptions  since  1810,  and  now  amounts  to  up- 
wards of  L. 20,000.     The  greater  part  of  this  sum  was  allotted  to  the 
purchase  of  the  estate  of  Collielaw  in  Berwickshire,  from  which,  how- 
ever, the  returns  have  not  been  very  productive,  and  the  rest  is  lent  on 
sufficient  securities,  though  liable  to  the  unavoidable  fluctuations  of  in- 
terest.     It  appears  from  a  statement  circulated  by  the  general  meeting 
held  in  1830,  that  the  annual  revenue  is  altogether  L.750  ;  and  that 
from  this  sum  the  Trustees  were  enabled  to  distribute,  during  the   pre- 
vious twelve  or  fourteen  years,  from  L.60  to  L.7<>  annually  to  each  of 

the  Bishops,  with  additions,   in  term  of   the  trust-deed,    to    the  Primus 


444  HISTORY  OF  THE 

of  the  Episcopal  College,  and  to  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  ;  and  salaries 
of  from  L.10  to  L.15  to  about  twenty-two  of  the  inferior  clergy. 

The  foundation  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  Society  in  1838  is 
already  noticed,  and  the  proceedings  of  the  first  Annual  Meeting  nar- 
rated. The  Rules  and  Regulations  of  this  important  institution  are 
printed  in  all  the  Annual  Reports  circulated  among  the  subscribers.  In 
the  Report  presented  to  the  second  Annual  Meeting  in  1840,  at  which  the 
Right  Rev.  Bishop  Low  presided,  the  following  statement  appears  :-^ 
"  It  is  gratifying  to  the  Committee  to  be  able  to  report  an  increasing 
interest  and  friendly  feeling  in  England  towards  the  Society.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  English  Prelates  who  had  given  it  their  countenance,  viz. 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Bishops  of  London,  Winchester, 
Chester,  Lincoln,  and  of  Nova  Scotia,  the  Bishop  of  Durham  has  be- 
come a  liberal  subscriber.  The  Very  Rev.  Dr  Goodenough,  Dean  of 
Wells,  and  the  Hon.  and  Very  Rev.  Dr  Howard,  Dean  of  Lichfield,  have 
contributed  to  the  Society,  and  have  accompanied  their  donations  with 
kindly  expressions  of  regard  and  interest.  A  grant  of  some  valuable  theo- 
logical books  has  been  made  by  the  trustees  of  the  late  Dr  Bray  for 
the  Diocese  of  Ross  and  Argyll.  These  are  intended  to  form  the  nu- 
cleus of  a  Diocesan  Library,  and  have  been  conveniently  deposited  for 
that  purpose.  A  most  gratifying  mark  of  sympathy  has  been  received 
through  the  Rev.  Mr  Aitkinson,  Rector  of  Gateshead  Fell,  in  a  sum  of 
L.20,  subscribed  by  himself  and  neighbouring  clergy,  as  a  testimony  of 
their  good  will  and  kindly  feeling  towards  our  impoverished  Church. 
A  similar  testimony  has  been  received  from  the  Rev.  Mr  Dalton  of 
Wolverhampton,  namely,  a  grant  of  L.10,  from  funds  raised  in  his  dis- 
trict for  Church  and  Missionary  purposes.  Nor  can  the  Committee 
omit  this  opportunity  of  making  their  acknowledgment  for  the  munifi- 
cent contribution  of  a  member  of  their  own  Church.  John  Guthrie, 
Esq.  of  Guthrie,  has  paid  over  this  year  L.400,  in  addition  to  the 
L.100  which  he  contributed  last  year.  The  Society  has  this  year  re- 
ceived three  legacies,  namely,  L.100  from  the  late  Mrs  Colonel  Far- 
quharson,  L.18  from  the  late  Mrs  Grant,  and  L.10  from  the  late  Miss 
Smith." 

The  Report  of  the  third  Annual  Meeting  in  1841,  at  which  Bishop 
Low  presided,  contains  some  interesting  information  which  shows  the 
operations  of  the  Society  : — "  The  Committee  consider  that  the  best 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  445 

proof  which  can  be  offered  is  the  statement  that  upwards  of  L.1600 
have  been  expended  this  year  in  promoting  the  objects  of  the  Society. 
Of  this  sum  L.774  have  been  paid  towards  raising  the  incomes  of  thirty- 
two  incumbents  to  L.80,  whilst  L.315,  paid  over  to  the  Episcopal  Fund, 
have  enabled  the  Trustees  to  extend  the  scale  of  their  grants  among  tho 
smaller  incumbencies  of  the  Church  ;  L.157,  14s.  9d.,  have  been  paid 
to  twelve  schools  ;  L.100  for  allowances  to  retired  incumbents  ;  L.280 
for  repairs  and  erections  in  nine  particular  cases,  where  there  was  a 
difficulty  in  raising  the  necessary  funds  ;  L.20  for  Bibles,  Prayer- 
Books,  and  Testaments.  Whilst  the  income  has  been  expended  for 
these  objects,  the  donations  received  during  the  year  have  been  added 
to  the  capital  stock  of  the  Society,  the  dividends  on  which  go  to  increase 
the  annual  disposable  fund  for  distribution.  It  is  with  peculiar  pleasure 
that  the  Committee  refer  to  the  formation  of  a  most  respectable  and  ef- 
ficient Auxiliary  Committee  in  London,  for  which  the  Rev.  Mr  Bowdlcr 
of  Sydenham,  and  the  Rev.  Mr  Mackenzie  of  St  James',  Bermondsey, 
Surrey,  have  kindly  agreed  to  act  as  Secretaries  ;  and  the  Committee 
are  desirous  of  expressing,  in  the  strongest  terms,  their  grateful  sense  of 
the  interest  evinced  towards  our  Church  by  the  venerable  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  who  have  permitted  the  Lon- 
don Committee  the  use  of  a  room  in  their  house,  79,  Pall-Mail,  for 
quarterly  meetings,  and  as  a  depot  for  receiving  contributions  and  their 
communications.  The  names  of  two  Prelates  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land have  been  added  to  those  already  on  the  list  of  subscribers,  viz. 
II is  Grace  the  Archbishop  of  York  and  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Hereford. 
An  Auxiliary  Association  has  been  formed  at  Bridgnorth,  under  the 
patronage  of  the  Archdeacon  and  neighbouring  clergy,  for  which  the 
Rev.  Mr  Dear  and  Rev.  Mr  King  kindly  act  as  Secretary  and  Trea- 
surer. An  addition  has  been  received  this  year  to  the  Offerings  record- 
ed in  last  Report  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Gateshead.  By  the  kind 
exertions  of  somo  friends  in  India,  the  claims  of  the  Society  have  been 
brought  before  churchmen  both  at  Bombay  and  Madras.  A  handsome 
remittance  has  been  sent  from  each  of  these  Presidencies,  towards  which 
the  Bishops  wero  contributors."  The  Bishop  of  Madras  accompanied 
his  donation  of  200  rupees  with  a  note  expressive  of  his  Lordship's  kind 
feeling  towards  the  Church.  A  munificent  donation  of  L.100  was  pre- 
sented to  tho  Society  by  tho  Archbishop  of  Armagh.       It  is  farther 


446  history  or  the 

stated,  that — "  In  the  present  prospects  of  our  Church  claims  upon  our 
benevolence  are  more  likely  to  increase  than  diminish,  as  several  new 
congregations  are  about  to  be  formed,  and  under  very  interesting  cir- 
cumstances. Although  in  the  cities  and  large  towns  in  Scotland,  Epis- 
copalians are  enabled  to  keep  up  their  churches  and  supply  incomes  for 
the  clergy,  yet  in  retired  parts  of  the  country  there  are  congregations 
deeply  attached  to  the  apostolic  order  of  the  Church,  and  to  its  ordi- 
nances and  services,  who  must  be  either  wholly  or  in  part  dependant 
upon  their  more  wealthy  brethren  for  the  possession  and  continuance  of 
these  spiritual  blessings.  Such  congregations  are  especially  incapable 
of  meeting  extraordinary  demands,  such  as  the  necessary  repairs  of  old 
chapels,  and  the  erection  of  new  ones,  where  those  at  present  occupied 
have  become  insufficient  or  insecure.  The  Committee  particularly  re- 
gret the  limited  sum  at  their  command  for  meeting  applications  of  this 
kind :  L.280  afforded  a  most  inadequate  assistance  to  the  many  cases 
which  were  laid  before  them." 

Eloquent  addresses  were  delivered  at  the  Annual  Meeting  of  1841,  by 
the  Earl  of  Rosebery,  Sir  James  Ramsay  of  Bamff,  Bart.,  the  Rev, 
Norman  Johnstone  of  Kirkaldy,  Erskine  Douglas  Sandford,  Esq.  Ad- 
vocate, Bishop  Terrot,  and  the  Rev.  Henry  Mackenzie,  of  St  James', 
Bermondsey,  Surrey.  Bishop  Terrot  said — "  When  I  consider,  Right 
Reverend  Sir,  what  has  been  the  success  of  our  Society,  I  feel  that 
it  would  be  foolish,  I  might  almost  say  sinful,  to  doubt  of  its  future 
extension  and  stability.  When  we  commenced,  as  our  hopes  were  low, 
so  our  views  were  comparatively  narrow,  and  we  thought  of  little  more 
than  securing  the  continuance  of  existing  congregations,  by  supplying 
the  means  of  clerical  maintenance,  where  from  poverty  congregations 
were  unable  to  support  their  pastor.  This  great  point  we  have  secured. 
But  we  now  are  forced  to  look  to  the  formation  of  new  congregations. 
I  am  not  referring  to  any  attempts  to  proselytize  the  members  of  other 
communities,  but  the  calls  that  are  made  upon  us  to  provide  the  means 
of  grace  for  the  poor  members  of  our  own  communion  from  England 
and  the  North  of  Ireland,  who  in  the  vicissitudes  of  trade  crowd  into 
the  manufacturing  districts  of  Scotland.  Especially  in  the  Diocese  of  my 
Right  Rev.  Brother  the  Bishop  of  Glasgow,  such  cases  abound.  The 
poor  Episcopalians  know  of  our  Society,  and  wishes,  that  might  other- 
wise have  been  extinguished  in  their  breasts,  are  now  openly  and  hope 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  447 

fully  expressed,  and  we  are  urgently  invited  to  come  and  help  them. 
The  full  extent  of  these  new  demands  upon  our  funds  we  do  not  yet 
know,  but  we  know  that  they  arc  great  and  increasing.  And  we  rejoice 
in  them,  not  because  they  betoken  the  increase  of  our  sect  of  the  Epis- 
copal Church  of  Scotland,  but  of  the  Catholic  Church  of  Christ — of  that 
great  instrument  which  God  has  appointed  for  the  salvation  of  sinners, 
and  to  whose  custody  and  administration  all  the  means  of  grace  have 
been  committed.  And  if,  as  members  and  ministers  of  that  one  true 
Church,  we  are  bound  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature,  we  can- 
not surely,  without  great  guilt,  shut  our  ears  to  the  applications  of  those 
who,  though  by  baptism  and  early  education  members  of  the  body  of 
Christ,  are  now  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  and  in  danger  of  learning 
to  live  without  God  in  the  world.  Were  it  not  for  these  new  claims, 
had  we  nothing  to  do  but  to  keep  up  our  existing  poor  congregations,  as 
we  at  first  contemplated,  I  should  rely  with  confidence  on  the  liberality  of 
the  wealthier  portions  of  our  Scottish  Church.  But  when  I  consider  how 
wide  a  field  is  opening  before  us  I  should  have  feared,  but  for  the  belief 
that  there  is  help  for  us  in  England.  To  that  help  we  ought  not  to  be  too 
hasty  in  recurring.  The  home  and  foreign  exertions  of  the  Church  of 
England  at  the  present  time  are  on  a  magnificent  scale,  and  she  seems 
determined  not  only  to  do  the  work  of  her  own  day,  but  to  compensate 
for  the  deficiencies  of  the  two  former  centuries,  during  which  no  ade- 
quate effort  had  been  made  to  render  the  means  of  civil  and  religious 
education,  of  church  accommodation,  and  of  ministerial  superintend- 
ence, commensurate  with  the  rapid  increase  of  the  English  population 
at  home,  and  of  the  British  Empire  abroad.  Knowing,  then,  the  various 
pressing  claims  on  the  English  public  for  schools,  churches,  additional 
curates,  missionary  presbyters,  and  Colonial  Bishops,  we  ought  not,  I 
think,  except  in  urgent  cases,  to  press  our  wants  upon  them.  We  have 
not  done  so  ;  but  in  brotherly  confidence  we  have  informed  them  of  our 
position  and  prospects,  and  the  rosult  has  been  liberal  and  rapidly  in- 
creasing assistance.  On  a  lato  visit  to  England  I  found  that  our  Com- 
munion was  an  object  of  deep  interest  and  sympathy  to  many  who  had 
m>  natural  connection  with  Scotland  ;  and  though  I  never,  directly  or 
indirectly,  solicited  subscriptions,  I  returned  with  considerable  contri- 
butions to  our  Church  Society,  which  had  spontaneously  0060  offered 
for  my  acceptance.      While  we  thankfully  receive  and  rely  on  tlio  con- 


448  niSTORY  OF  THE 

tinuance  of  this  aid,  it  is  right  we  should  consider  whether  we  may  not 
do  more  for  ourselves  than  we  have  yet  done.  On  the  same  journey  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  with  a  very  able  and  zealous  pastor  of  the 
Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  Dr  Doane,  Bishop 
of  New  Jersey  ;  and,  as  was  natural,  our  conversation  turned  much  on 
the  state  of  the  several  portions  of  the  body  of  Christ  with  which  we 
were  personally  connected.  Of  course  I  spoke  of  our  Church  Society, 
and  of  the  machinery  by  which  its  funds  were  raised.  He  informed  me 
that,  when  he  took  charge  of  the  Diocese  of  New  Jersey,  he  found  that 
their  Canonical  Societies,  for  they  have  several,  were  supported  like  ours 
by  annual  subscriptions  and  church  collections.  He  altered  this,  and  call- 
ing upon  the  members  of  the  Church  individually,  he  ascertained  what 
sum  each  was  able  and  willing  to  contribute  weekly  with  the  probability  of 
continuance.  The  sums  so  engaged  for  were  deposited  in  a  plate  at  the 
church  on  the  first  Sunday  of  every  month,  and,  I  think,  afterwards  pre- 
sented on  the  altar  as  an  offering  to  God  for  the  service  of  his  Church. 
The  result  was,  that  from  the  very  first  the  sum  thus  collected  more  than 
doubled  what  had  previously  been  obtained  by  the  more  ordinary  prac- 
tice. I  do  not  mention  this  as  a  plan  to  be  adopted  by  us  ;  but  I  do 
consider  it  as  worthy  of  being  mentioned,  and  of  being  kept  in  mind. 
For  the  supply,  then,  of  all  that  was  originally  contemplated  by  our 
Society,  I  look  with  perfect  confidence  to  the  liberality  of  our  own  na- 
tive Scottish  Episcopalians,  who,  I  believe,  are  daily  learning  more  and 
more  to  recognise  and  to  practise  the  duty  of  administering  to  the  spi- 
ritual wants  of  those  who  are  of  the  household  of  faith.  For  the  means 
of  cultivating  the  larger  field  that  is  opening  before  us,  I  rely  with  equal 
confidence  upon  the  liberality  of  our  English  friends,  whose  assistance 
I  have  found  to  increase  exactly  in  proportion  as  the  knowledge  of  the 
real  position  of  the  Scottish  portion  of  the  Church  is  disseminated 
among  them.  I  am  happy  to  see  among  us  a  tried  friend  from  Eng- 
land, Mr  Mackenzie,  Secretary  to  our  London  Committee,  and  I  have  to 
request  that  he  will  favour  us  with  communicating  to  the  meeting  any 
information  he  may  think  fit  respecting  the  movement  that  has  already 
been  made  in  London  on  our  behalf.  But  while  we  thus  anticipate  fu- 
ture aid,  it  is  most  becoming  we  should  acknowledge  with  gratitude 
the  favours  we  have  already  received,  and  I  have  accordingly  much 
pleasure  in  seconding  the  motion." 


SCOTTISH  ETISCOPAL  CHUKCH.  449 

At  Bishop  Terrot's  request  Mr  Mackenzie  rose  and  said — "  Right 
Reverend    Sir — Thouah   I    should  have   been   most   unwilling   to  in- 
trude  myself  on  the  notice  of  this  meeting,  yet  I  feel  that  it  is  incum- 
bent upon  me  to  obey  the  call  made  upon  mc  by  the  Right  Rev.  the 
Bishop  of  the  Diocese  ;  and  I  must  express  also  my  sense  of  the  high 
privilege  to  be  identified  personally  with  such  a  meeting  as  this,  where 
faithful  members  of  Christ's  holy  Church  are  banded  together  to  pro- 
mote the  glory  of  their  common  Lord.    At  the  same  time,  I  must  regret 
that  this  duty  has  not  fallen  upon  my  reverend  colleague  Mr  Bowdler, 
'  an  elder  and  a  better  soldier'  in  his  Master's  cause,  who  would  have 
traced  out  more  ably  the  slender  assistance  that  we  in  England  have 
been  enabled  to  afford  to  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  Society.      It 
is,  I  believe,  Sir,  well  known  to  this  meeting,  that  a  Branch  Associa- 
tion of  the  Gaelic  Episcopal  Society  existed  for  several  years  in  Eng- 
land.    When,  however,  that  Society  was  merged  into  the  Scottish  Epis- 
copal Church   Society,  the   London  Committee  also  transferred  their 
services  to  the  new  Society  then  constituted.     Some  difficulties,  how- 
ever, stood  in  the  way  of  the  active  operation  of  the  London  Committer. 
until  the  commencement  of  the  current  year,  when  we  were  enabled  to 
extend  that  Committee  considerably,  and  place  the  performance  of  its 
duties  on  a  regular  though  still  limited  footing.     As  the  names  of  the 
Committee  will  be  printed  with  the  Report  of  this  year's  proceedings 
about  to  be  circulated,  I  need  not  detain  this  meeting  by  reading  them  ; 
but  when  I  mention  the  names  of  Gladstone,  Hope,  and  Wilberforce,  I 
doubt  not  this  will  be  accepted  as  a  guarantee  for  the  soundness  and 
efficiency  of  the  Committee  in  general.     We  arc  indebted  to  the  kind- 
ness of  the  Committee  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
in  Foreign  Tarts,  for  the  use  of  their  house  to  hold  the  quarterly  meet- 
ings of  our  London  Committee,  when  we  assemble  for  ((inducting  the 
business,  which  we  find  gradually  increasing  upon  our  hands.      And 
here.  Sir,   perhaps  I  may  be  allowed  to  say,  that  we  have  not  had  re- 
course to  personal  pleading,  or  to  a  begging  system  in  England,  m  order 
to  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  Church  in  Scotland.     Whatever  youi 
brethren  of  hSngland  have  been  enabled  to  do  towards  your  assistance 
they  have  done  voluntarily,  as  they  became  acquainted  with  the  facts  of 
your  case  -not  grudgingly,  nor  of  necessity,  but  as  cheerful  givcrs-r  i 
teeming  it  a  privilege  to  have  Buch  a  means  of  sing  their  Chris 

2  r 


450  HISTORY  OF  THE 

tian  sympathy  with  a  pure  and  holy  branch  of  Christ's  universal  Church* 
Among  various  parts  of  England  with  which  communications  have  "been 
opened,  I  ought  perhaps  specially  to  name  Oxford,  Cambridge,  Eton, 
and  Bridgenorth,  at  which  latter  place  a  considerable  Local  Associa- 
tion has  been  formed  in  aid  of  the  funds  of  the  Parent  Society.  And 
now,  Sir,  having  given  a  slight  outline  of  our  doings  in  the  South,  per- 
haps I  may  be  permitted  to  take  up  the  tone  of  the  Right  Rev.  Prelate 
who  preceded  me,  and  offer  a  few  remarks  on  the  Catholic  character  of 
this  Society,  as  connected  with  the  present  state  and  prospects  of  the 
Reformed  Church  at  large.  It  seems  to  be  proved  by  experience,  that 
the  scrutinizing  spirit  of  the  age  leads  the  mass  of  people  to  look  too 
much  to  detail,  and  neglect  to  regard  the  aspect  of  the  whole,  as  a 
whole.  I  speak  this  abstractedly,  as  true  of  almost  any  given  subject. 
Now,  Sir,  I  conceive  it  to  be  one  of  the  great  merits  of  the  Scottish 
Episcopal  Church,  that  she  has  not  fallen  into  this  error.  She  is  not 
acting  through  the  instrumentality  of  this  Society,  simply  in  a  selfish 
view,  but  as  endeavouring  to  fulfil  her  responsibilities  alike  towards  her 
Lord  and  her  children,  as  a  part  of  one  great  system — as  an  integral  por- 
tion of  that  one  universal  and  apostolic  Church,  which  the  Head  of  the 
Church  ordained  to  be  the  evangelizer  of  the  nation  V* 

Such  is  an  abstract  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church  Society,  as  reported  at  the  second  and  third  Annual  Meetings. 
The  benefits  which  have  been  already  conferred  on  the  Church  are 
every  year  more  and  more  perceptible.  If  the  present  writer  may  be 
allowed  a  suggestion,  it  might  be  of  some  importance  to  impart  to  the 
Society's  operations  a  kind  of  home  missionary  or  church  extension  as- 
pect, embracing  the  opportunity  of  constituting  a  congregation  in  every 
town  and  village  of  the  country  where  members  of  the  Church  are  to  be 
found. 

The  Shell  Exhibitions  at  Baliol  College,  Oxford,  might  be  rendered 
of  essential  consequence  to  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  if  conferred 
according  to  the  bequest  of  the  founder.  As  the  history  of  these  important 
Exhibitions  is  very  imperfectly  known,  and  as  they  have  been  for  many 
years  given,  by  some  influence  or  other,  to  persons  whom  the  founder 
unquestionably  never  intended  to  enjoy  them,  an  account  of  them  will 
not  be  unacceptable  to  the  reader. 


SCOTTISH  EriSCOPAL  CHURCH.  451 

It  has  been  asserted  in  several  local  works  that  Mr  Snell  founded  his 
Exhibitions  after  the  Revolution  of  1688,  when  the  Church  was  deprived 
of  its  temporalities.  One  writer  gravely  states,  that  "  in  the  year  1688 
Mr  John  Snell,  with  a  view  to  support  Episcopacy  in  Scotland,  devised 
to  trustees  a  considerable  estate  near  Leamington,  in  Warwickshire,  for 
educating  Scottish  students  at  Baliol  College,  Oxford."*  This  is  ut- 
terly erroneous  as  it  respects  the  date.  Mr  Snell  executed  his  Will  in 
1679,  when  the  Episcopal  Church  was  the  Established  Church  of  Scot- 
land, and  when  there  was  not  the  least  probability  of  its  ejection  from 
the  temporalities.  This  is  proved  from  the  "  Copy  made  from  the  Ex- 
tract of  Mr  Snell's  Will,  from  the  Registry  of  the  Prerogative  Court  of 
Canterbury,"  printed  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Report  of  the  Commis- 
sioners appointed  by  his  Majesty  George  IV.,  and  re-appointed  by  his 
Majesty  William  IV.,  for  visiting  the  Universities  of  Scotland.!  At 
the  time,  too,  when  Mr  Snell  made  his  munificent  bequest  the  Univer- 
sity of  Glasgow  was  Episcopal,  the  professors  were  of  necessity  mem- 
bers of  that  Church,  and  the  Chancellor  was  the  Archbishop  of  the 
diocese. 

The  following  extracts  from  Mr  Snell's  Will  sufficiently  set  forth  the 
objects  of  the  founder,  of  whose  personal  history  nothing  is  known : — 
"  In  the  name  of  God,  Amen.  I,  John  Snell,  of  Uffeton,  in  the  county 
of  Warwick,  being  in  health  of  body,  and  of  perfect  memory  and  under- 
standing, God  be  praised  for  the  same,  and  for  all  other  his  great  mer- 
cies bestowed  upon  me,  yet,  considering  my  mortality,  and  the  certainty 
of  my  death,  but  the  uncertainty  of  the  time  thereof,  and  being  minded 
to  settle  and  dispose  of  that  estate  wherewith  it  hath  pleased  my  most 
gracious  and  bountiful  God  to  bless  me  in  this  world,  do  make  and  or- 
dain this  my  last  will  and  testament,  as  followeth."  He  bequeaths  to 
hi*  wife,  Johanna  Snell,  an  annuity  of  L.100  sterling,  to  be  paid  out  of 
the  manor  and  lands  of  Uffeton  ;  the  sum  of  L.100  to  be  paid  her  within 
one  month  after  his  death,  and  his  dwelling-house  in  the  Savoy,  and  the 
uso  of  all  his  "  household  stuff,  plate,  and  jewels  therein,  during  her 
widowhood."    Mr  Snell  next  bequeaths  to  his  daughter,  Dorothy  Snell, 

•  Cleland's  Annals  of  Glasgow,  vol.  ii.  p.  103.  New  Statistical  Account  of  Scot- 
land—  Lanarkshire. 

f  Presented  t<>  both  Boasesof  Parliament)  and  printed  in  I897i  rel  »•  of  Reports 
of  Commissioners,  and  vol.  sxxri  <>t'  Parliamentary  Returns, 


452  HISTORY  OF  THE 

the  sum  of  L.2000,  to  be  paid  when  she  completed  her  eighteenth  year, 
or  day  of  marriage,  if  she  married  with  the  consent  of  his  executors,  or 
the  survivors  or  survivor  of  them  ;  but  in  case  she  married  without  such 
consent,  he  orders  that  legacy  to  become  void,  and  he  gives  her  only  L.500, 
to  be  paid  within  six  months  after  her  marriage,  and  an  annuity  of 
L.100  for  life  ;  and  the  sum  of  L.60  per  annum  is  allowed  to  his  wife  for 
the  "  support  and  education,  maintenance,  diet,  and  apparel,"  of  his 
daughter,  whom  he  orders  to  reside  with  her  mother  till  she  is  eighteen 
years  of  age.  After  sundry  small  legacies  to  his  own  nephews  named 
Stewart,  and  his  wife's  nephew  and  niece  named  Mason  ;  to  his  execu- 
tors L.10  each,  to  purchase  mournings ;  to  his  sister,  Silvester  Cooper, 
L.5,  to  "  buy  her  a  ring  ;  and  to  every  one  of  her  children  who  shall  be 
living  at  the  time  of  his  death,  twenty  shillings  a  piece,  to  buy  them 
rings  ;"  to  the  poor  of  the  parish  of  Uffeton,  L.10  ;  to  the  poor  of  the 
parish  of  St  Clement-Danes,  and  of  St  Mary 's-le- Savoy,  in  Westmin- 
ster, L.5  to  each  parish,  and  L.50  for  the  repair  of  the  church  of  Uffe- 
ton, Mr  Snell  thus  orders  his  bequest : — "  And  my  farther  will  and 
mind  is,  and  I  do  hereby  desire,  direct,  and  appoint,  that  after  all  my 
debts,  legacies,  annuities,  and  rents,  charges  hereby  devised  and  ap- 
pointed, and  my  funeral  charges  shall  be  all  discharged,  satisfied,  and 
paid,  or  otherwise  sufficiently  secured  to  be  paid,  the  said  Johanna 
Snell,  William  Bridgeman,  Benjamin  Cooper,  William  Hopkins,  and 
Thomas  Newcombe,*and  the  survivors  or  survivor  of  them,  and  the  heirs, 
executors,  and  administrators  of  the  survivor  of  them,  shall  convey  and 
settle  all  the  rest  and  residue  of  my  estate,  which  shall  then  remain  in 
their  hands,  upon  five  or  more  persons,  to  be  named  Trustees  for  that 
purpose,  and  upon  their  heirs,  such  as  the  Vice- Chancellor  of  the  said 
University  of  Oxford,  the  Provost  of  Queen's  College,  the  Master  of 
Baliol  College,  and  the  President  of  St  John's  College,  in  the  same 
University,  for  the  time  being,  or  any  three  of  them,  shall  nominate 
and  appoint,  upon  trust,  that  the  profits  and  product  thereof  may  be 
employed  and  disposed  of  for  the  maintenance  and  education,  in  some 
College  or  Hall  in  that  University  to  be  appointed  by  the  said  Vice- 

*  Those  personal  friends  of  Mr  Snell  are  described  in  his  Will  as  "  William  Bridge- 
man,  of  St  Martin's-in- the- Fields,  Esq.,  Benjamin  Cooper,  Register  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Oxford,  William  Hopkins  of  Oxford  aforesaid,  gentleman,  and  Thomas 
Newcombe,  citizen  and  stationer  of  London." 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOrAL  CHUKCH.  453 

Chancellor,  Provost,  Master,  and  President,  for  the  time  being,  or  any 
three  of  them,  and  in  such  proportions,  and  with  such  allowances,  and 
in  such  manner  as  they,  or  any  three  of  them,  shall  elect,  think  fit,  and 
appoint,  such  and  so  many  scholars,  born  and  educated  in  Scotland,  who 
shall  each  of  them  have  spent  three  years,  or  two  at  the  least,  at  the  Col- 
lege of  Glasgow  in  that  Kingdom,  or  one  year  there,  and  two  at  the  least 
in  some  other  College  in  that  Kingdom,  as  they,  the  said  Vice-Chancellor, 
or  Provost,  Master,  and  President,  for  the  time  being,  or  any  three  of 
them,  shall  think  fit,  not  exceeding  the  number  of  twelve,  nor  being  under 
the  number  of  five,  at  any  one  time,  unless  the  revenue  and  profits  of  my 
estate,  for  the  purposes  foresaid  hereby  devised,  by  the  discreet  and 
prudent  management  of  my  Executors  and  Trustees,  shall  increase  to 
such  a  condition  as  may  bear  an  allowance  competent  to  maintain  a 
greater  number.  And  my  farther  mind  and  will  is,  that  every  such 
scholar  and  scholars,  upon  each  of  their  admission  to  such  College  or 
Hall  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  bound  and  obliged,  by  such  security  as  the 
said  Vice -Chancellor,  Provost,  Master,  and  President,  for  the  time 
being,  or  any  three  of  them,  shall  think  fit,  to  some  person  or  persons, 
to  be  by  them,  or  any  three  of  them,  thereunto  appointed,  that  the  said 
scholar  or  scholars  shall  respectively  forfeit  and  pay  to  that  College  or 
Hall  whereof  or  wherein  he  or  they  shall  be  respectively  admitted,  the 
sum  of  L.5QQ  a-piece  if  he  shall  not  enter  into  holy  orders,  and  if  he  or 
they  shall,  at  any  time  after  his  or  their  entering  and  admission,  take  or 
accept  of  any  spiritual  promotion,  benefice,  or  other  preferment  whatsoever , 
within  the  Kingdom  of  England  or  Dominion  of  Wales,  it  being  my  will 
and  desire  that  every  scholar  so  to  be  admitted  shall  return  into  Scot- 
land, and  there  to  be  advanced  as  his  or  their  capacity  and  parts  shall 
deserve,  but  in  no  case  to  come  back  into  England,  nor  to  go  into  any 
other  i >h ice,  but  only  Into  the  Kingdom  of  Scotland,  for  his  or  their  prefer 
incut.  And  my  will  also  is,  that  none  of  the  scholars  to  be  elected  and 
admitted  as  aforesaid,  shall  take  any  benefit  of  this  my  bequest  above 
the   space  of  ten  years,  or  eleven  at  the  most;  tor  alter  that  time  thej 

.  and  it  is  my  express  will  and  desire  that  they  shall  and  may  1>.'.  / 
moved  into  Scotland,  at  aforesaid*    And  it  is  my  farther  will  anil  mean 
in-,  and  I  do  hereby  appoint,   that  when  anyone  or  more  of  the  said 
scholars  -hall  be  removed  or  die,  that  the  said  Vice-Chancellor,  Pro- 
.  Master,  and  President,  for  the  time  being,  and  the  Governor  <»i 


454  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Principal,  for  the  time  being,   of  such  College  or  Hall  whereof  such 
scholar  or  scholars  so  removed,  or  dead,  shall  be  a  member  or  members, 
or  any  three  of  them,  shall,  from  time  to  time,  for  ever,  as  often  as  oc- 
casion shall  be,  have  power  to  elect  and  admit  one  or  more  other  scholar 
or  scholars,  born  and  educated  as  aforesaid,  to  succeed  in  the  room  and 
stead  of  such  scholar  or  scholars  so  removed  or  dead.    And  my  farther 
will  and  mind  is,  that  all  such  scholars  as  shall  from  time  [to  time]  be 
elected  and  admitted,  shall  before  their  admittance  be  recommended 
by  the  Principal  of  the  said  College  of  Glasgow,  the  Professor  of  Di- 
vinity, the  Regent,  and  other  the  chief  officers  of  the  said  College  for 
the  time  being,  or  three  of  them  at  the  least,  whereof  the  Principal  for 
the  time  being  to  be  one,  by  their  letters-recommendatory  under  their 
College  Seal ;  and  also  that  every  such  scholar,  so  as  aforesaid  to  be 
elected,  shall  come  as  a  probationer  to  such  College  or  Hall  whereunto 
he  shall  be  appointed  as  aforesaid,  and  shall  there  continue  at  his  own 
charges  for  six  months  at  the  least,  to  give  evidence  of  his  behaviour, 
learning,  and  abilities,  before  he  shall  be  admitted  to  receive  any  bene- 
fit of  this  my  desire  and  will ;  after  those  six  months  are  expired,  he 
shall  be  allowed  and  admitted,  or  disallowed,  according  to  the  discretion 
of  the  persons  before  appointed  for  that  purpose,  or  any  three  or  more 
of  them ;  and  to  every  such  scholar  I  do  allow  and  appoint  twenty 
pounds  a-year  after  that  time,  to  be  paid  him  half-yearly  at  the  least ; 
but  if  my  estate  will  bear  a  greater  allowance  than  what  is  herein  ex- 
pressed, I  desire  the  scholars  may  have  the  benefit  of  it,  and  to  be  paid 
by  half-yearly  payments  at  Midsummer  and  Christmas."     The  other 
details  are  merely  directions  about  the  management  of  the  estate,  and 
the  document  is  concluded  in  the  usual  manner : — "  In  witness  whereof 
to  this  my  last  will  and  testament,  contained  in  six  sheets  of  paper,  all 
of  my  own  handwriting,   I  have  set  my  hand  and  seal  at  the  bottom  of 
every  sheet ;  and  I  do  declare  this  to  be  my  last  will  and  testament, 
this  nine-and- twentieth  day  of  December,  in  the  nine-and-twentieth  year 
of  the  reign  of  our  sovereign  Lord  Charles  the  Second,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  of  England,  Scotland,  France,  and  Ireland,  King,  Defender  of  the 
Faith,    &c.     Anno  Domini    1677. — (Signed)  John    Snell.      Signed, 
sealed,  and  published,  to  be  the  last  will  and  testament  of  the  said  John 
Snell,  the  day  and  year  above  written,  in  the  presence  of  us,  Richard 
Taylor,  Thos.  Fowle,  Fra.  Cane,  Robert  Fenwick.     Republished  and 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  455 

declared  to  be  the  last  will  and  testament  of  me,  the  said  John  Snell, 
the  sixth  of  August  1679,  and  all  the  interlineations  and  alterations  are 
made  by  my  own  hand  ;  and  all  this  is  done  in  the  presence  of  Ric. 
Lydall,  Tho.  Mundy,  John  Mundy,  Tho.  Snell,  Thomas  Adams." 
Then  follows  the  proof  of  Mr  SnelTs  Will  in  the  Prerogative  Court  of 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  : — "  Probatum  fuit  testamentum  supra- 
scriptum  apud  London,  coram  venerabili  et  egregio  viro  Domino  Leolino 
Jenkins,  milite,  Legum  Doctore,  Curia3  Prerogative  Cantuariensis 
Magistro  Custode,  sive  Commissario  legitime  constituto,  13°  die  mensis 
Septenibris,  anno  Domini  1670,  juramentis  Johanna)  Snell  relictse,  Gu- 
lielmi  Bridgeman,  armigeri,  Benjamini  Cooper,  Gulielmi  Hopkins, 
et  Thomas  Newcombe,  executorum,  &c.  quibus,  &c.  debere,  &c.  vi- 
gore  commissionis  jurat,  viz.  dictis  Johanna  Snell,  Gulielmo  Bridge- 
man,  et  Thoma  Newcombe,  coram  venerabili  viro  Henrico  Fauconbcrsrc, 
Legum  Doctore  Surrogato  dicti  Commissarii  nee  non  prefatis  Benja- 
mino  Cooper  et  Gulielmo  Hopkins  vigore  Commissionis  jurat.  Sic 
subscribitur,  Wm.  Legard,  Pet.  M'Evoy,  Dlen.  Stevens,  Deputy-Re- 
gisters.— Ed.  A.  Yuille." 

The  Professors  of  Glasgow  College,  thus  constituted  nominators  to 
the  Snell  Exhibitions,  are  not  all  entitled  to  vote.  The  right  to  exer- 
cise the  presentations  is  limited  to  the  Principal,  and  the  Professors  of 
Logic  and  Rhetoric,  Moral  Philosophy,  Natural  Philosophy,  Greek, 
Divinity,  Humanity,  Mathematics,  Oriental  Languages,  Physic,  Civil 
Law,  and  Law  of  Scotland,  Anatomy,  Ecclesiastical  History,  and  As- 
tronomy— fourteen  in  number,  who,  in  the  phraseology  of  the  University 
of  Glasgow,  are  designated  exclusively  the  College  Professors,  having 
the  entire  control  of  the  revenue  and  property  of  the  College,  and  exer- 
cising the  patronage.  There  are  ten  Exhibitioners,  who  hold  their  pre- 
sentations for  ten  years,  but  vacating  by  marriage,  or  obtaining  prefer- 
ment above  tho  value  of  the  Inhibitions.  It  is  farther  stated  in  the 
Parliamentary  Report — "  The  income  of  Mr  Snell's  charity  established 
in  Baliol  College,  Oxford,  in  1693,  for  oatiyes  of  Scotland,  attached  ly 
education  and  principles  to  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  Church  of 
England,  arises  from  the  rent  of  a  manor  and  estate  at  niton  in  the 

eouiitv  of  Warwick.      This   property  was   let    in    1809,    upon  a    lease    of 

tweiii\  one  years,  at  an  annual  rent  of  L.1500,  out  of  which  the  follow- 
ing payments  were  by  order  of  the  Court  of  Chancery  appointed  to 


456  HISTORY  OF  THE 

made,  viz.— To  ten  Exhibitioners,  at  L.133,  6s.  8d.  per  annum  each, 
L.1333, 6s.  8d. ;  the  Master  of  Baliol,  for  gubernation  money,  L.31 ,  15s. ; 
the  College,  L.63,  10s.  ;  ditto,  for  an  entertainment  of  the  meeting  of 
the  Trustees  to  audit  the  accounts,  L.ll,  2s.  2d.  ;  the  steward,  or  re- 
ceiver of  the  rents,  L.33,  6s.  8d.  ;  the  surplus-fund,  for  expenses  in  vi 
siting  and  inspecting  the  estates,  and  if  not  so  applied,  to  be  vested  in 
the  public  funds,  in  the  name  of  the  accountant-general  for  the  benefit 
of  the  estates,  L.26,  19s.  6d.— in  all,  L.1500."  The  whole  estate  is 
managed  by  the  Master  and  Fellows  of  Baliol  College,  regulated  by  the 
Court  of  Chancery.  If  the  Principal  and  College  Professors,  as  they 
are  called,  in  the  University  of  Glasgow,  or  three  of  them  at  the  least, 
fail  to  nominate  any  eligible  person  by  letters  recommendatory  under 
their  College  Seal,  the  right  falls  for  that  time,  jure  devoluto,  to  the  Mas- 
ter and  Fellows  of  Baliol,  to  "  nominate  and  elect  any  person  born  within 
the  Kingdom  of  Scotland,  and  also  provided  the  person  so  nominated 
has  such  qualifications  as  are  required  by  the  said  will  and  decree, 
viz.— 1.  That  he  be  a  native  of  the  Kingdom  of  Scotland  [which  the 
Master  of  Baliol  requires  to  be  proved  by  an  extract  of  the  parish  re- 
gister of  baptisms].  2.  Such  as  hath  been  educated  in  one  of  the  Uni- 
versities of  Scotland,  and  hath  spent  three,  or  two  years  at  the  least,  in 
the  College  of  Glasgow,  or  one  year  there,  and  three,  or  two  at  the  least, 
in  some  other  College  in  that  Kingdom.  3.  Such  as  hath  not  taken  any 
degree  in  any  one  of  the  said  Universities,  but  is  an  undergraduate, 
and,  with  respect  to  his  age,  of  learning  and  disposition  towardly  and 
hopeful.  4.  Such  whose  education  and  principles  shall  lead  him  to  the 
promoting  of  the  doctrine  and  discipline  established  in  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, being  that  which  was  chiefly  intended  by  the  testators  benefaction. 
5.  Such  person  judged  thus  qualified,  and  thought  fit  to  be  nominated 
to  the  Master  and  Fellows  of  Baliol  for  their  approbation  and  admis- 
sion, must  bring  with  him  the  testimony  of  the  nomination  by  the  Prin- 
cipal and  Professors  of  Glasgow  College,  under  the  common  seal  of 
their  said  College.  6.  It  is  enjoined  by  the  said  will  and  decree,  that 
every  scholar  to  be  thus  nominated  and  approved  is  to  continue  for  the 
space  of  six  months  by  way  of  probation  ;  that  is  to  say,  as  he  shall 
give  evidence  of  his  behaviour,  learning,  and  abilities,  he  is  to  be  ad- 
mitted or  rejected  at  the  expiration  of  six  months." 

It  is  already  stated  that  though  the  Exhibitions  were  not  established 


SCOTTISH  EriSCOPAL  CHURCH.  457 

iii  Baliol  College  till  1693,  Mr  Snell's  Will  was  executed  when  the 
Episcopal  Church  was  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland,  in  1677, 
eleven  years  before  the  Revolution,  and  farther  declared  by  him  to  be 
his  last  will  and  testament  in  1679.  No  human  being  could  then  have 
anticipated  the  Revolution,  or  the  ejection  of  the  Episcopal  Church  as 
the  national  establishment.  The  express  object  of  the  bequest  for  "  na- 
tives of  Scotland,  attached  by  education  and  principles  to  the  doctrine 
and  discipline  of  the  Church  of  England,"  being  that  which,  according 
to  the  explicit  declaration  of  the  Master  and  Fellows  of  Baliol,  as  one 
of  the  essential  qualifications,  was  "  chiefly  intended  by  the  testator's  be- 
nefaction." Connected  with  this  there  are  other  conditions  solemnly 
set  forth  in  the  founder's  Will,  viz.  that  the  Exhibitioners  shall  enter 
into  holy  orders  in  that  Church,  and  never  "  take  or  accept  of  any  spi- 
ritual promotion,  benefice,  or  other  preferment  whatsoever,  within  the 
Kingdom  of  England  or  Dominion  of  Wales, "but  shall  return  to  Scot- 
land for  their  preferment,  and  "in  no  case  come  back  into  England, 
nor  go  into  any  other  place,"  under  the  penalty  of  forfeiting  fl ve  hundred 
pounds  sterling  to  the  Master  and  Fellows  of  Baliol  College.  In  short, 
the  great  purpose  of  Mr  Snell,  in  founding  these  Exhibitions,  and  or 
dering  those  appointed  to  them  to  enter  into  holy  orders  and  return  to 
Scotland,  was,  as  a  local  writer  observes,  to  assist  in  preserving  a  regu  • 
lar  Episcopal  ministry  in  Scotland  in  all  time  coming,  that  the  Church 
of  England  in  that  Kingdom  "  might  never  be  without  a  witness." 

Now,  instead  of  the  founder's  wishes  being  carried  into  effect,  and 
the  Snell  Exhibitioners  of  right  compelled  to  enter  into  holy  orders  and 
return  to  Scotland,  to  devote  themselves  and  their  energies  to  the  service 
of  the  Episcopal  Church,  under  the  penalty  of  Jive  hundred  pounds  ster- 
ling, it  is  notorious  that  the  very  reverse  of  all  this  is  the  case,  and  that 
persons  arc  nominated  to  and  obtain  these  Exhibitions  whose  "education 
and  principles"  arc  not  only  altogether  opposed  to  the   "  promoting 
of  the    doctrine    and   discipline   established   in    the    Church  of   Eng 
land,"  but  are   not,  and  never  were,  members  of  that  Church,   or  of 
the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church.    It  is  clear  that  these  benefactions  were 
itrictly  limited  to  the  members  of  that  Church,  or  to  those  who  con 
formed  sincerely  and  conscientiously  to  the  Church  of  England  ;  yet  it 
is  an  extraordinary  fact,  that  they  have  for  the  most  part  been  held  by 
Presbyterians,  who  qualified  themselves  by  an  attendance  of  three  years. 


458  HISTORY  OF  THE 

at  the  University  of  Glasgow.     It  is  true  they  would  make  an  appear- 
ance of  adherence  to  the  Church  of  England  after  their  admission  into 
Baliol  College,  and  would  of  necessity  sign  the  Thirty -Nine  Articles  ; 
but  it  is  also  true  that  they  have  returned  to  Scotland  after  graduating  at 
Oxford,  and  openly  professed  themselves  Presbyterians,  even  while  they 
were  enjoying  the  emoluments  of  the  Exhibitions  during  the  ten  years  they 
are  tenable.     The  case  of  Sir  James  W.  Moncreiff,  Bart.,  who  became 
a  member  of  the  Scottish  Bar  in  1799,  and  took  his  seat  as  a  Judge 
in  the  Court  of  Session  by  the  title  of  Lord  Moncreiff  in  1829,  is  one 
of  the  numerous  examples  of  this  class.     His  Lordship's  father  was  Sir 
Henry  Moncreiff,  Bart.,  a  very  distinguished  minister  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Establishment ;  and  this  fact  is  merely  mentioned  to  show  that  his 
Lordship  never  had  any  connection  with  the  Episcopal  Church.    Yet 
here  is  a  gentleman  who  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  Mr  Snell's  munificent 
benefaction,  and  instead  of  entering  into  holy  orders,  as  he  ought  to 
have  done,  and  returning  to  Scotland  to  advance  the  cause  of  Episco- 
pacy, betakes   himself  to  the  more   lucrative   profession   of  the  Bar, 
and  continued,  as  is  well  known  in  Scotland,  a  prominent  leader  for 
many  years  in  the  General  Assembly,  in  which  he  introduced  and  car- 
ried the  famous  Veto  Act,  in  the  opinion  of  many  members  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Establishment  the  origin  of  all  their  subsequent  troubles,  con- 
tentions, and  numerous  expensive  litigations.  It  is  undeniable,  therefore, 
that  Lord  Moncreiff  incurred  the  penalty  of  L. 500  to  the  Master  and  Fel- 
lows of  Baliol,  which  he  ought  to  have  paid.     But  if  Lord  Moncreiffs 
conscience  was  thus  so  pliable,  what  shall  we  say  of  his  son,  Mr  Henry 
Moncreiff,  also  a  Baliol  Exhibitioner,  who  took  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts  at  Oxford,  and  who,  instead  of  returning  to  Scotland  in  holy  or- 
ders, came  back  as  he  went,  and  was  actually  inducted  Established  Pres- 
byterian Minister  of  East  Kilbride  in  the  county  of  Lanark  in  1836  ?    This 
is  a  most  flagrant  case  of  dereliction  of  principle,  and  probably  the  most 
noted  on  record  connected  with  the  Baliol  Exhibitioners,  not  one  of 
whom,  to  whatever  professions  they  betook  themselves,  ever  at  least  be- 
came Presbyterian  ministers,  and  thus  grossly  perverted  and  misapplied 
the  benefaction  of  Mr  Snell,  whose  sole  object  was  to  encourage  "  natives 
of  Scotland  "  to  promote  the  "  doctrine  and  discipline  established  in  the 
Church  of  England  "  in   Scotland.     Every  one  of  them  who  did  not 
enter  into  holy  orders  and  comply  with  the  terms  of  Mr  Snell's  Will 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  459 

incurred  the  penalty  of  L.500  to  the  Master  and  Fellows  of  Baliol.  This 
Mr  Henry  Moncreiff  has  done  ;  but  he  also  notoriously  and  most  un- 
generously contrived  to  reap  the  benefits  of  a  bequest  never  intended  by 
the  testator  for  such  as  he,  and  he  evinced  his  gratitude  to  the  founder 
by  becoming  a  parochial  minister  of  the  Presbyterian  Establishment — 
an  Establishment  collectively  noted  for  its  enmity  to  the  Episcopal 
Church.  The  want  of  conscientious  feeling  is  here  so  undeniable, 
that  it  is  time  the  Master  and  Fellows  of  Baliol  College  should  insist 
on  the  Exhibitioners  strictly  fulfilling  Mr  Snell's  will  and  express  de- 
sire, or  demand  the  penalty  of  L.500.  If  such  an  appropriation  of  a 
Presbyterian  bequest  had  been  made  by  Episcopalians,  loud  would  have 
been  the  denunciations  in  Presbyteries,  Synods,  and  General  Assem- 
blies, and  every  effort  would  have  been  very  properly  made  to  apply  the 
benefaction  to  the  parties  for  whom  it  was  specially  intended  by  the 
founder.  If  Mr  Snell's  Will  was  enforced  as  it  ought  to  be  by  the  Mas- 
ter and  Fellows  of  Baliol  College,  they  would  confer  a  vast  obligation 
on  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  ;  and  this  they  could  easily  do  with- 
out in  the  least  interfering  with  the  right  of  nomination  vested  in  the 
Principal  and  Professors  of  the  University  of  Glasgow,  who  have  no 
connection  with  the  right  of  admission  to  the  benefits  of  the  Snell  Ex- 
hibitions. Every  one  who  holds  them  should  be  made  deliberately  to 
promise  that  he  will  enter  into  holy  orders  after  he  graduates,  and  re- 
turn to  Scotland  ;  or,  if  he  should  subsequently  betake  himself  from  in- 
clination to  any  other  profession  whatever,  he  should  be  made  to  pay 
the  penalty  of  L.500.  It  is  lamentable  to  convert  what  was  piously 
intended  for  religious  and  ecclesiastical  purposes  into  an  object  of  tem- 
poral and  secular  advancement,  in  any  othor  profession  than  that  speci- 
fied by  the  founder.  It  appears,  from  the  Second  Report  of  the  Glas- 
gow University  Commissioners,  that  in  the  list  of  the  names  of  the  tvn 
gentlemen  who  enjoyed  the  Snell  Exhibitions  from  1827-8  to  183G-7, 
only  three  of  them  entered  into  holy  orders,  viz.  the  Rev.  G.  M. 
Drnmmond,  15.  A.,  who  officiated  some  years  as  minister  of  St  Mark's 
Episcopal  Chapel  in  Portobello,  the  Rev.  Archibald  Crawford  Tait, 
M.A.,  appointed  in  In  12  Head  Master  of  Kugby  School,  vacant  by  the 
decease  of  Dr  Am. .Id,  and  the  Rot.  James  Connel. 

In  the  Answen  from  the  University  of  Glasgow  to  the  University 
Commissioners,  printed  in  the  Second  Report  of  1839,  ooenrthe  follow 


460  HISTORY  OF  THE 

ing  statements  : — "  The  College  have  further  to  regret,  that  in  the  for- 
mer Report  too  much  weight  was  given  to  certain  complaints  respect- 
ing the  selection  of  Exhibitioners  to  Baliol  College  on  Mr  Snell's 
foundation.  If  the  College  have  to  court  inquiry  on  one  subject  more 
than  another,  it  is  in  the  exercise  of  this  branch  of  their  patronage. 
Their  selection  is  invariably  made  in  strict  conformity  to  the  conditions 
prescribed  by  the  foundation,  and  repeated  in  every  notification  of  a 
vacancy  transmitted  from  Baliol  College.  That  all  their  appointments 
should  be  equally  successful  is  not  to  be  expected,  but  the  records  of 
Oxford  will  show  that  their  Exhibitioners  have  obtained  a  share  of  Uni- 
versity honours  far  beyond  the  proportion  of  their  average  number.  The 
wish  ascribed  to  the  students  (and  to  the  expression  of  which  they  have 
been  most  industriously  stirred  up),  that  the  Exhibitions  should  be  pub- 
licly competed  for  can  be  entertained  only  in  ignorance.  Distinguish- 
ed scholarship  is  an  essential,  but  not  the  sole  qualification  to  be  re- 
garded in  making  such  appointments.  It  is  necessary  that  those  who 
go  to  Oxford  should  possess  manners  and  habits  suited  to  that  semi- 
nary ;  that  they  should  have  a  fair  prospect  of  benefiting  by  the  educa- 
tion they  receive  there  ;  and  that  they  should  possess  the  means  of  ex- 
pending, in  addition  to  the  amount  of  the  Exhibition,  a  sum  more  than 
double  the  average  expenditure  of  a  student  at  Glasgow.  To  invite  in 
such  circumstances  a  competition,  by  which  scarcely  an  individual  could 
profit,  would  be  an  absurd  and  insulting  mockery.  On  this  charge  the 
Professors  desire  to  be  judged  not  by  vague  surmise,  or  a  reference  to 
failures,  invidiously  selected,  and  forming  exceptions  to  the  general  cha- 
racter of  their  Exhibitioners,  but  by  the  broad  fact,  that  of  no  class  of 
students  has  a  larger  proportion  risen  to  the  highest  professional  and  li- 
terary eminence  than  of  those  who  have  gone  from  Glasgow  to  Oxford." 
While  the  general  principles  here  maintained  may  be  admitted  to  the 
fullest  extent,  and  while  it  is  undeniable  that  some  of  the  Snell  Exhi- 
bitioners have  secured  for  themselves  a  distinguished  reputation,  the 
Professors  ought  to  respect  one  of  the  most  important  qualifications  for 
eligibility,  which  they  appear  in  the  great  proportion  of  cases  to  have 
utterly  disregarded.  They  allege  to  the  Commissioners  that  "  their  se- 
lection is  invariably  made  in  strict  conformity  to  the  conditions  pre- 
scribed by  the  foundation,  and  repeated  in  every  notification  of  a  va- 
cancy transmitted  from  Baliol  College."    Now,  it  is  seen  that  the  fourth 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  461 

condition  of  eligibility,  as  set  forth  in  every  such  notification  by  the 
Master  and  Fellows  of  Baliol,  is,  that  the  individual  nominated  shall 
be  one  "  whose  education  and  principles  shall  lead  him  to  the  promot- 
ing of  the  doctrine  and  discipline  established  in  the  Church  of  England, 
being  that  which  was  chiefly  intended  by  the  founder"  It  is  clear  that 
Presbyterians,  who  never  intend  to  conform  to  the  Church  of  England, 
have  not  the  slightest  claim,  and  no  right  whatever  to  enjoy  Mr  Snell's 
benefaction  ;  and  it  is  undeniable  that  the  Glasgow  Professors  have 
paid  little  or  no  attention  to  this  very  important  qualification.  From 
the  list  of  Exhibitioners,  too,  it  appears  that  not  a  few  of  them  were  the 
sons  of  Professors,  and  of  persons  connected  with  the  city  of  Glasgow 
and  neighbourhood,  who  have  never  risen  to  any  "  high  and  profession- 
al and  literary  eminence  ;"  and  the  only  son  of  an  Episcopal  clergyman 
who  was  nominated  to  the  Exhibition  for  many  years,  was  Mr  Samuel 
Horsley,  son  of  the  Very  Rev.  Heneage  Horsley,  M.A.,  Dundee,  and 
grandson  of  the  illustrious  Bishop  Horsley,  appointed  in  1828-9.  These 
are  the  facts  of  the  whole  matter,  and  the  causes  of  complaint  are  that 
the  founder's  express  injunctions  are  not  fulfilled,  and  that  these  Exhi- 
bitions are  made  available  for  and  are  appropriated  to  private  and  secular 
purposes.  No  one  can  ever  allege,  after  perusing  the  extracts  from  Mr 
Snell's  Will  already  given,  that  the  benevolent  testator  had  no  objec- 
tions though  his  Exhibitioners  became  Judges  in  the  Scottish  Supreme 
Courts,  continued  members  and  elders  of  the  Presbyterian  Establish- 
ment, betook  themselves  to  the  English  or  Scottish  Bar,  or  became 
Presbyterian  ministers.  The  Church  of  England  never  attempted  to 
seize  Lady  llewley's  charity,  about  which  there  has  been  a  vast  litigation 
in  the  Court  of  Chancery ;  and  the  Scottish  Presbyterians  have  no  right  to 
monopolize  any,  or  enjoy  even  one,  of  the  Sncll  Exhibitions,  if  they  do 
not  intend  in  after  life  to  comply  with  the  conditions  of  the  founder. 

« 

hi  IS  II  was  projected  Trinity  Etiscopal  College,  and  no  sooner 
was  this  academical  institution  announced  than  an  excitement  was 
evinced  by  a  certain  predominating  section  of  the  Presbyterian  Esta- 
blishment almost  unprecedented.  They  either  misunderstood  or  pur- 
posely misrepresented  the  objects  of  the  College  :  for  though  it  was  re- 
peatedly Btated   that   no  other  doctrines  were  to   he  taught    than    those 

of  the  Church  «>t'  England,  aa  Bel  forth  in  the  Thirty-Nine  Articles, 


462  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Homilies,  and  ritual  of  that  Church,  very  different  views  were  taken. 
Names  with  which  the  Church  has  no  connection,  and  applied  by  its 
enemies  to  designate  certain  alleged  opinions  said  to  be  maintained  by 
some  divines  in  England,  were  applied  with  extraordinary  virulence, 
and  an  alarm  was  manifested  as  great  as  if  the  erection  of  Trinity  Col- 
lege was  to  overthrow  the  Presbyterian  Establishment.  The  bigoted 
folly  of  all  this  controversy  on  one  side,  for  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church  disdained  to  take  the  least  notice  of  it,  was  as  undeniable,  as  it 
was  partial,  unjust,  and  persecuting  in  spirit.  The  distinguished  clergy 
and  laity,  presumed  to  be  the  chief  promoters  of  Trinity  College,  were 
also  assailed  by  the  most  rancorous  phraseology  in  particular  news- 
papers, the  gross  ignorance  displayed  by  the  writers  in  which  respect- 
ing the  foundation  of  the  College  was  as  astonishing  as  their  credulity  in 
believing  every  rumour  without  inquiring  into  its  authenticity. 

The  well  informed  and  prudent  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Esta- 
blishment were  not  infected  by  this  spirit  of  prejudice  and  bigotry.  They 
saw  neither  cause  for  alarm  in  the  institution  of  the  projected  College, 
nor  any  unreasonableness  on  the  part  of  its  promoters.  Most  of  the 
Presbyterian  Dissenters  have  their  own  "  Divinity  Halls,"  as  they  are 
called,  for  the  theological  training  and  instruction  of  those  who  intend  to 
become  preachers  in  their  respective  religious  communities,  and  yet  they 
were  never  denounced  for  setting  up  rival  institutions,  in  which,  more- 
over, the  voluntary  principles,  subversive  of  all  Church  Establishments, 
are  diligently  inculcated.  Their  students  withdraw  from  the  Scottish 
Universities  after  the  attendance  of  four  years,  during  which  they  apply 
themselves  to  their  literary  course,  and  place  themselves  under  the 
teachers  appointed  by  the  body  to  whose  principles  they  are  attached. 
Thus,  the  Seceders  have  a  regular  Divinity  Hall,  and  six  Professors, 
attendance  on  whose  course  includes  a  period  of  six  years.  The  Relief 
Synod,  another  class  of  Presbyterian  Dissenters,  have  two  Professors  of 
Theology  ;  the  "  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church,"  or  Cameronians,  one  ; 
the  "  Associate  Synod  of  Original  Seceders,"  two  ;  and  the  Independ- 
ents, or  "  Congregational  Union  of  Scotland,"  have  two  in  their  Aca- 
demy in  Glasgow.  Even  the  Roman  Catholics  have  their  College  of  St 
Mary  at  Blairs,  near  Aberdeen,  under  a  President,  three  Professors,  and 
a  Procurator,  for  the  education  of  candidates  for  the  priesthood,  and  yet 
no  fierce  denunciations  were  ever  levelled  at  them  for  maintaining  such 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  463 

an  institution.  When  they  exhibited  themselves  in  a  much  bolder  man- 
ner, and  opened  the  Convent  of  St  Margaret's  near  Burntsfield  Links, 
Edinburgh,  with  grand  ceremonial  in  1836,  no  pamphlets  or  newspaper 
attacks  were  made  on  the  part  of  the  Presbyterian  Establishment  respect- 
ing the  first  convent  erected  in  Scotland  for  the  reception  of  nuns  since 
the  Reformation.  All  was  allowed  to  pass  unnoticed  ;  even  a  pontifi- 
cal mass  excites  no  enmity  from  them  ;  and  they  seem  to  have  resolved 
no  longer  to  offer  the  Romanists  any  molestation.  The  Scottish  Epis- 
copal Church  has  as  good  a  right  to  assume  the  theological  superintend- 
ence of  its  clergy  as  any  of  the  sects  now  mentioned ;  yet  it  appears, 
that  they  may  do  what  they  please  with  impunity,  while  the  Church  can- 
not take  the  slightest  step  to  promote  its  own  interests,  in  a  country  in 
which  its  Bishops  and  clergy  are  recognised  as  such  by  law,  without  under- 
going the  ordeal  of  abuse.  There  is  something  excessively  mean  in  all 
this  which  is  too  palpable  to  be  mistaken,  and  reflects  little  credit  on 
the  zealots  by  whom  this  conduct  is  exhibited.  The  English  Dissent- 
ers have  their  theological  academies,  to  the  institution  of  which  the 
Church  of  England  never  made  the  slightest  opposition.  To  make  the 
inconsistency  of  the  enemies  of  the  Church  in  the  Presbyterian  Esta- 
blishment more  apparent,  at  the  very  time  they  were  assailing  Trinity 
College  as  an  innovation  of  their  alleged  rights,  they  evinced  no  such 
scruples  in  England — a  country  where  they  are  a  mere  fraction  of  the 
people,  and  were  actually  encouraging  the  formation  of  a  kind  of  Pres- 
byterian "College,"  for  the  same  object  as  that  of  Trinity  College  in 
the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church. 

But  the  truth  is,  that  for  several  years  the  nucleus  of  a  College  had 
existed  in  the  Church.  The  Pantonian  Professorship  of  Theology  was 
the  first  instituted,  and  subsequently  the  Church  History  Professorship, 
conjoined  with  the  Bell  Lecture.  As  it  respects  candidates  for  holy 
orders,  it  is  generally  required  in  present  circumstances  that  they  shall 
have  attended  one  or  other  of  the  Scottish  Universities,  and  complete 
the  usual  course  of  four  years,  a  regular  attendance  at  which  qualifies 
the  student  for  his  degree  in  Arts.  They  then  withdraw  from  the  Uni- 
versity, and  attend  the  Lectures  of  the  Pantonian  Professor  of  Divinity 
and  the  Professor  of  Church  History.  It  hence  appears  That  the  Scot- 
tish  Episcopal   students    have    no   connection  with   the    theological    ]iiv- 

iections  communicated  in  the  Universities.     Thus  far  does  the  Church 


464  HISTORY  OF  THE 

follow  the  Canon  set  forth  by  Royal  Authority  in  1635,  when  established 
by  law,  entitled — "  Of  Presbyters  and  Deacons,  their  nomination,  ordi- 
nation, and  functions  ; "  and  the  Fifth  Canon  of  the  Synod  of  Laurence- 
kirk, 1828,  in  quoting  the  Canon  of  1635  enjoins,  that  though  "in  the 
present  state  of  this  Church  it  may  be  found  expedient,  in  some  particu- 
lar instances,  to  dispense  with  the  observance  of  part  of  what  is  there 
ordained,"  nevertheless,  every  candidate  for  holy  orders,  who  has  not 
received  a  regular  academical  education,  shall  be  examined  as  to  his 
literary  qualifications  by  two  or  more  presbyters  appointed  by  the  Bi- 
shop who  is  to  ordain  him.  He  must  also  show  that  he  is  sufficiently 
acquainted  with  the  Four  Gospels  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  in  the 
original  Greek,  give  an  account  of  his  faith  in  Latin,  and  deliver  a  dis- 
course in  English  on  any  text  of  Scripture  which  the  examinators 
shall  prescribe,  and  answer  any  questions  on  theology  and  ecclesiastical 
history  which  they  may  deem  necessary. 

When  these  facts  are  considered,  the  institution  of  a  College  in 
the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  was  an  event  likely  to  take  place  sooner 
or  later,  and  the  opposition  to  it  on  the  part  of  a  certain  section  of  the 
Presbyterian  Establishment  is  astonishing,  more  especially  when  it  must 
have  been  well  known  that  all  such  display  of  enmity  would  be  utterly 
mpotent.  In  addition  to  the  above  statements,  it  must  be  recollected 
that  the  system  of  education  pursued  in  the  Philosophy  Classes  of  the 
Scottish  Universities  is  notoriously  defective,  and  has  been  long  the 
subject  of  very  serious  objections,  Even  in  the  elementary  departments 
to  which  the  students  first  resort,  such  as  the  Latin,  Greek,  and  Mathe- 
matics, there  is  too  much  abstract  lecturing,  and  too  little  practical  in- 
struction by  proper  and  thorough  examinations  communicated.  As  to 
the  discipline  it  is  a  complete  mockery,  and  any  student  may  do  what 
he  pleases  if  he  attends  with  tolerable  regularity  during  the  hours  ap- 
pointed for  the  meeting  of  his  classes,  is  peaceable  and  decorous  in  his 
behaviour,  and  performs  the  exercises  prescribed.  This  occupies  from 
two  to  four  hours  during  the  day,  after  which  he  may  go  anywhere,  or  do 
and  say  what  he  pleases,  as  he  is  under  no  farther  restraint,  and  he 
must  prepare  himself  in  the  best  manner  he  can.  The  whole  system, 
in  short,  abounds  with  marked  inconveniences,  which  have  been  often 
felt,  and  as  often  pointed  out,  to  effect  an  alteration.  It  was  natural, 
therefore,   that   the   Scottish  Episcopal  Church,   yearly  increasing  in 

2 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  465 

numbers,  should  assert  its  right,  enjoyed  by  the  Dissenters  and  the  Ro- 
man Catholics,  to  have  its  own  College,  in  which  the  literary  and  theo- 
logical education  of  many  who  are  to  be  its  future  clergy  will  be  con- 
ducted in  a  manner  efficient  and  satisfactory  to  those  entrusted  with  the 
responsibilities  of  its  control.  As  to  the  charge  originated  by  the  Pres- 
byterians, that  certain  alleged  religious  and  doctrinal  opinions,  which 
have  attracted  great  attention  in  England,  would  be  taught  exclusively 
in  Trinity  College,  it  is  almost  unworthy  of  notice.  This  clamour  con- 
sisted of  mere  surmises,  circulated  for  obvious  purposes,  especially  to  ge- 
nerate suspicion  and  alarm  in  the  minds  of  those  who  might  otherwise  be 
disposed  to  come  forward  liberally  with  their  subscriptions  to  promote 
the  work.  The  most  unfounded  and  erroneous  motives  were  imputed 
to  the  projectors,  and  though  these  were  occasionally  denied,  yet  they 
were  studiously  unnoticed  by  the  enemies  of  the  Church,  who  were  not 
scrupulous  even  to  draw  on  their  inventive  faculties  to  excite  the  preju- 
dices of  the  public.  As  it  was  it  completely  failed,  and  the  members  and 
friends  of  the  Church  both  in  Scotland  and  England  evinced  by  their 
liberality  that  party  bigotry  and  sectarian  virulence  had  poured  forth 
their  abuse  in  vain. 

As  the  proceedings  connected  with  the  institution  of  Trinity  College 
will  hereafter  be  interesting  in  the  history  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church,  any  of  the  public  documents  connected  with  it  are  of  importance, 
though  these,  whatever  the  private  correspondence  may  have  been,  are 
neither  numerous  nor  of  great  length.  The  "  Proposals"  for  founding  the 
College  first  demand  attention.  These  were  finally  arranged  at  the  an- 
nual meeting  of  the  Bishops,  and  of  the  Committee  of  the  Scottish  Epis- 
copal Church  Society,  on  the  2d  of  September  1841,  when  the  Synodal 
Letter  of  the  Bishops  was  sanctioned  and  signed.  The  first  announcement 
appeared  in  Edinburgh  on  the  13th  of  December  1841.*  The  Synodal 
Letter  is  addressed  ''to  all  faithful  members  of  the  Reformed  Catholic 
Church" — a  designation  which  gave  offence  to  several  persons  connected 
with  the  Scottisli  Episcopal  Church,  and  it  still  farther  served  to  in- 
cite the  Presbyterians  to  renew  their  misrepresentations.  But  while 
the  opposition  of  the  latter  was  to  be  expected  under  any  circumstances, 
it  might  have  occurred  to  the  former  thai  the  title  Reformed  Catholic 
Cm  i;<  ii  was  not  inappropriate,  because  the  Scottish   Episcopal  Church 

[n the  "North  British  Advertiser." 

2 


466  HISTORY  OF  THE 

is  a  part  of  the  Church  Catholic  or  Universal  throughout  the  world, 
and  the  Synodal  Letter  of  the  Bishops  was  not  intended  to  be  confined 
exclusively  to  Scotland,  but  is  addressed  to  all  members  of  the  same 
Church  Catholic  whom  it  might  reach,  in  whatever  country  or  quarter 
of  the  globe.  The  following  is  the  first  intimation  of  the  projected 
College,  with  the  Synodal  Letter,  and  "  Proposals  for  the  foundation  of 
an  Academical  Institution  in  connection  with  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church,"  which  has  been  the  object  of  most  extraordinary  virulence  on 
the  part  of  a  large  section  of  the  Established  Presbyterians. 

''The  Committee  have  very  great  satisfaction  in  bringing  before  the 
notice  of  the  members  of  the  Episcopal  Communion  in  Scotland  the 
scheme  for  the  establishment  of  Trinity  College,  of  which  the  general 
features  are  delineated  in  the  accompanying  '  Proposals.' 

"  The  Committee  are  fully  persuaded  that  the  want  which  it  is  now 
proposed  to  supply  has  been  long  felt,  especially  by  those  who  desire  to 
undertake  the  duties  of  the  holy  ministry  ;  and  while  they  regard,  with 
feelings  of  the  warmest  sympathy  and  most  affectionate  interest,  the 
efforts  which  are  now  making  to  ameliorate  the  temporal  condition  of 
their  clerical  brethren,  they  are  convinced  that  the  establishment  of  the 
proposed  College  is  eminently  calculated  not  to  impede  but  to  further 

that  good  work. 

"  The  Committee  desire  to  take  the  present  opportunity  of  saying 
that  their  object  is  perfectly  plain  and  straightforward.  They  utterly 
disclaim  any  peculiar  or  party  views  ;  they  have  no  purpose  beyond 
that  which  is  plainly  set  forth  in  the  printed  statement ;  they  have  re- 
ceived the  sanction  of,  and  are  acting  in  concert  with,  their  Bishops  ; 
and  they  have  the  utmost  gratification  in  stating,  that,  having  submitted 
their  proposals  to  the  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  York,  and  Armagh, 
they  have  been  favoured  with  the  approbation  and  encouragement  of 
these  Prelates.  The  Committee  believe,  that,  taken  in  connection 
with  the  Synodal  Letter  of  the  Scottish  Bishops,  the  names  of  these 
veuerated  Prelates  will  afford  the  best  guarantee  that  the  individuals 
who  now  come  forward,  earnestly  entreating,  on  behalf  of  Trinity  Col- 
lege, the  support  of  all  who  take  an  interest  in  the  Episcopal  Church  of 
Scotland,  have  no  object  in  view  but  that  of  promoting  her  best  and 
dearest  interests. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  467 

"  Synodal  Letter  to  all  Faithful  Members  of  the  Reformed  Catholic 
Church,  the  Bishops  in  Scotland,  greeting.  Grace  be  with  you, 
mercy  and  peace  from  God  the  Father,  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"  Whereas  certain  lay  members  of  the  Church,  moved  by  a  pious  de- 
sire to  promote  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  welfare  of  the  flock  over 
which  He  hath  made  us  overseers,  have  represented  unto  us  that  our 
Church,  having  been  long  depressed,  hath  suffered  the  total  loss  of  tem- 
poral endowments  ;  and  that  hence  great  difficulty  hath  been  found  in 
maintaining  the  decent  administration  of  God's  Word  and  Sacraments, 
more  especially  in  so  far  as  the  same  depends  upon  the  due  education  of 
candidates  for  holy  orders  ;  that  the  sense  of  this  deficiency  hath  been 
frequently  declared  by  various  pious  but  inadequate  bequests  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  more  recently  by  the  Church  herself  in  the  Canon  XL.,  and 
that  the  same  still  exists  in  almost  undiminished  magnitude  : 

"  And  whereas  they  have  represented  unto  us  their  desire,  under 
God's  blessing,  to  attempt  a  remedy  for  this  want ;  and,  in  pursuance  of 
such  design,  have  proposed  to  us  the  foundation  of  a  school  and  theolo- 
gical seminary,  to  be  devoted  to  the  training,  under  collegiate  discipline, 
of  candidates  for  holy  orders,  and  at  the  same  time  of  such  other  per- 
sons as  may  desire  the  benefit  of  a  liberal,  in  conjunction  with  a  reli- 
gious education  : 

"  And  whereas  they  have  represented  unto  us,  that  sufficient  pecuniary 
support  hath  been  secured  to  warrant  their  perseverance  in  the  design, 
and  that  they  are  now  desirous,  under  our  sanction,  to  make  a  public 
appeal  to  the  members  of  the  Church  in  its  behalf: 

"Now  We,  the  Bishops  of  the  Reformed  Catholic  Church  in  Scot- 
land in  Synod  assembled,  desire  to  express  our  warmest  gratitude  to 
those  with  whom  this  proposal  hath  originated,  and  above  all,  to  God. 
who  hath  put  it  into  their  hearts  to  attempt  the  supply  of  wants,  the 
reality  and  urgency  of  which  we  have  long  painfully  experienced  ;  and 
having  maturely  considered  the  said  design,  We  do  hereby  formally  ap- 
prove the  same,  and  recommend  it  to  you,  our  brethren  in  Christ,  as  a 
fitting  object  for  your  prayers  and  alms. 

*4  We  havo  farther,  for  the  promotion  of  this  good  work,  requested 
certain  discreet  persons  to  act  in  Committee,  and,  in  concert  with  our- 
selves, to  prepare  a  scheme  for  its  execution,  to  bo  submitted  to  the 
members  of  the  Church. 


468  HISTORY  OF  THE 

"  In  thus  endeavouring  to  awaken  your  zeal  and  charity  in  behalf  of 
that  portion  of  the  Church  committed  to  our  charge,  We  deem  it  fitting 
to  state,  solemnly  and  explicitly,  that  We  are  moved  by  no  feelings  of 
rivalry  towards  any  religious  community,  but  by  a  desire  to  supply  the 
wants  of  our  own  Communion,  and  thereby  to  fulfil  a  duty  implied  in 
the  first  principles  of  the  Christian  Church. 

"  Brethren,  the  Grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  your  spirits. 
Amen. 

"  W.  Skinner,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Aberdeen  and  Primus. 
Patrick  Torry,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Dunkeld,  Dunblane,  and  Fife. 
David  Low,  LL.D.,  Bishop  of  Moray,  Ross,  and  Argtll. 
Michael  Russell,  LL.D.,  Bishop  of  Glasgow. 
David  Moir,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Brechin. 
C.  H.  Terrot,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Edinburgh. 

"  Edinburgh,  2d  September  1841/' 

"  The  Institution  mentioned  in  the  accompanying  Synodal  Letter  is 
designed  to  embrace  objects  not  attainable  in  any  public  foundation 
hitherto  established  in  Scotland,  viz.  the  combination  of  general  educa- 
tion with  domestic  discipline  and  systematic  religious  superintendence. 

'*  It  is  proposed  to  found,  in  a  central  part  of  Scotland  north  of  the 
Frith  of  Forth,  and  removed  from  the  immediate  vicinity  of  any  large 
town,  a  College,  to  be  called  the  College  of  the  Holy  and  Undivided 
Trinity,  which  may  receive  and  board  a  large  number,  say  ultimately 
from  150  to  200,  of  youths  from  eight  to  eighteen  years  of  age  ;  and  also 
afford  a  sound  clerical  education  to  young  men  destined  for  holy  orders, 
of  whom  a  considerable  number,  in  addition  to  those  required  in  Scot- 
land, may  be  usefully  employed  in  supplying  the  demands  which  are 
now  made  for  clergymen  in  the  British  Colonies. 

"It  is  intended  that  the  Institution  shall  provide  Exhibitions,  or 
Bursaries,  to  be  conferred  principally  on  boys  likely  to  become  divi- 
nity students. 

"  It  is  anticipated  that,  by  the  means  proposed,  parents  would  be  en- 
abled to  secure  all  the  advantages  of  a  liberal  and  scientific  education 
at  a  very  moderate  rate,  varying  probably  from  L.50  to  L.80  per  an- 
num, according  to  the  age  of  the  scholar.  They  would  also  escape  the 
great  evil  of  separating  specifically  religious  from  general  education  ; 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  409 

and  would  feel  that  on  leaving  home  their  children  would  continue  to 
enjoy  some  of  its  best  blessings. 

"  Such  an  Institution  must,  of  course,  be  placed  under  a  clergyman 
of  very  high  character  and  attainments,  together  with  assistants,  who 
will  thoroughly  comprehend  the  design,  and  imbue  all  the  details  with 
a  religious  spirit.  It  is  also  contemplated  to  provide  instruction  in 
Classical  Literature,  Mathematics,  and  those  branches  of  Mental  and 
Natural  Philosophy  usually  comprehended  in  academical  courses. 

"  The  Scottish  Bishops  have  now,  by  their  Synodal  Letter,  authori- 
tatively declared  their  approval  of  the  principle  of  the  scheme,  and 
their  desire  that  aid  should  be  solicited  for  its  support  through  the  in- 
strumentality of  a  Committee. 

"It  is  obvious  that,  in  order  to  carry  the  object  into  effect,  a  very 
considerable  sum  will  be  required. 

"  The  purposes  to  which  the  Funds  will  be  devoted  comprise  the 
providing  a  Chapel,  with  Halls  and  other  suitable  buildings,  the  sa- 
laries of  a  Warden,  Professors,  and  Teachers,  and  the  foundation  of 
Bursaries. 

"  It  is  calculated  that  the  lowest  amount  of  capital  which  would  jus- 
tify the  commencement  of  the  Institution  is  L. 20,000  ;  and  as  soon  as 
that  sum  is  raised,  a  meeting  of  the  subscribers,  as  afterwards  specified, 
will  be  called,  to  confer  with  the  Bishops  on  the  permanent  constitution 
of  the  College. 

"A  sum  of  nearly  L.7000  has  been  already  privately  contributed, 
and  it  is  proposed  to  raise  the  remainder  by  a  general  subscription 
under  the  following  conditions  : — 

"  (1.)  That  all  contributions  of  L.50  and  upwards  are  to  be  payable 
either  at  once,  or  (at  the  option  of  the  Donor)  in  five  equal  instal- 
ments ;  the  first  to  be  due  when  the  Committee  shall  declare  that 
L. 15,000  have  been  subscribed,  the  others  at  successive  intervals  of 
six  months. 

"  (2.)  That  all  payments  whatever  are  to  be  returned,  unless  the 
subscription,  including  the  price  received  for  nominations,  shall  reach 
L.20,000. 

"(3.)  All  donations  of  L.lOO  and  upwards  are  to  entitle  the  donor, 
being  a  member  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church,  or  of  t]\c  United 
Church   of  England   and  Ireland,   to  a  voice,   in  conjunction   with   the 


470  HISTORY  OF  THE 

Bishops  and  the  members  of  Committee,  in  the  settling  of  the  perma- 
nent constitution  of  the  establishment  at  the  meeting  to  be  held  for 
that  purpose. 

"  (4.)  Perpetual  rights  of  nomination  to  the  College  shall  be  pur- 
chasable as  follows  : — One  for  one  hundred  guineas,  two  for  two  hundred, 
three  for  five,  and  five  for  a  thousand.  Nominated  pupils  to  be  received 
with  a  deduction  of  ten  per  cent,  from  the  current  rate  of  annual  pay- 
ment for  board  and  education." 

On  the  29th  of  January  1842  a  second  advertisement  appeared,  in 
which  many  munificent  subscriptions  were  announced.  Among  these 
were  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  Dowager,  L.100.  His  Grace  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  L.100;  his  Grace  the  Archbishop  of  York, 
L.100  ;  his  Grace  the  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  L.105  ;  the  Lord  Bishop 
of  London,  L.100  ;  the  Lord  Bishops  of  Bangor,  St  David's,  Gloucester 
and  Bristol,  and  the  Lord  Bishops  of  Elphin,  Kilmore,  and  Ardagh, 
L.50  each  ;  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  L.25  ;  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Cal- 
cutta, L.  10;  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Skinner,  aright  of  nomination, 
L.105  ;  Bishops  Low,  Russell,  and  Terrot,  L.50  each  ;  Bishop  Moir, 
L.20  ;  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  L.1000;the 
Duke  of  Buccleuch,  L.1000  ;  the  late  Marquis  of  Lothian,  L.1000  ; 
Lord  Douglas,  L.500  ;  Robert  Wardlaw  Ramsay,  Esq.  of  Whitehill, 
L.500  ;  John  Gladstone,  Esq.  of  Fasque,  L.800,  and  two  rights  of  no- 
mination, L.210  ;  the  Right  Hon.  W.  E.  Gladstone,  M.  P.,  L.210  ;  Mrs 
W.  E.  Gladstone,  L.500  ;  Thomas  Gladstone,  Esq.,  a  right  of  nomina- 
tion, L.105  ;  J.  W.  Gladstone,  Esq.,  a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  R. 
Gladstone,  Esq.,  a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  Rev.  Lord  Henry  Kerr, 
a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  James  R.  Hope,  Esq.,  theological  books, 
value  L.400;  Anonymous,  L.300;  Anonymous,  L.100  ;  Edward  Badeley, 
Esq.,  L.100  ;  J.  W.  Colville,  Esq.,  L.105  ;  Rev.  J.  C.  Robertson,  Boxley, 
L.100  ;  Sir  J.  S.  Richardson,  Bart,  of  Pitfour,  a  right  of  nomination, 
L.105  ;  John  Cay,  Esq.,  a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  Neil  Malcolm, 
Esq.,  of  Poltalloch,  L.100  ;  Sir  Gilbert  Stirling,  Bart.,  L.105  ;  Alexander 
Falconar,  Esq.  of  Falcon-Hall,  aright  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  James  R. 
Mackenzie,  Esq.  younger  of  Scatwell,  a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ; 
Major  Maclaren,  Portobello,  L.100  ;  Sir  Patrick  Murray  Threipland, 
Bart.,  L.105  ;  the  Earl  of  Home,  L.100  ;  Dr  Anderson's  Trustees,  Aber- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  471 

deen,  L.200  ;  Albert  Cay,  Esq.,  a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  the  Earl 
of  Dunmore,  a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  C.  A.  Moir,  Esq.  of  Leckie, 
a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  John  Stirling,  Esq.  of  Kippendavie,  a 
right  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  Rev.  C.  J.  Lyon,  St  Andrews,  aright  of  no- 
mination, L.105  ;  W.  Hay,  Esq.  of  Dunse  Castle,  a  right  of  nomination, 
L.105  ;  A.  Campbell,  Esq.  of  Blythswood,  aright  of  nomination,  L.105  ; 
Alexander  M'Neill,  Esq.,  Advocate,  a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ; 
Alexander  Oswald,  Esq.,  Auchincruive  House,  L.100  ;  Lord  Kenyon, 
L.105  ;  John  Stuart,  Esq.,  Queen's  Counsel,  L.105  ;  James  Stirling, 
Esq.  of  Garden,  L.100  ;  Jesse  Watts  Russell,  Esq.  of  Ham  Hall,  Staf- 
fordshire, L.500  ;  Principal  and  Fellows  of  Jesus  College,  Oxford,  a 
right  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  Anonymous,  from  London  Committee, 
L.100  ;  Anonymous,  L.1000  ;  Sir  James  Ramsay,  Bart,  of  Bamff,  aright 
of  nomination,  L.105  ;  William  Forbes,  Esq.  of  Callendar,  M.P.,  L.105  ; 
W.  Warring  Hay,  Esq.  of  Blackburn,  F.  M.  Gillanders,  Esq.  Liverpool, 
D.  Robertson,  Esq.  Bedford  Square,  London,  Miss  Johanna  Robertson, 
of  Carleton  Gardens,  London,  Rev.  George  May,  Upper  Harley  Street, 
London,  Sir  Archibald  Edmonstone,  Bart,  of  Duntreath,  Miss  Mav  of 
Clifton  Hall,  Bristol,  a  right  of  nomination,  each  L.105  ;  Miss  Boswall 
of  Blackadder,  L.110  ;  John  Guthrie,  Esq.  of  Guthrie,  L.100  ;  the  Trus- 
tees of  the  late  Countess  Dowager  of  Rosse's  Fund,  an  exhibition  for  a 
divinity  student,  L.30  per  annum  ;  Sir  John  Stuart  Forbes,  Bart,  of 
Pitsligo  and  Fettercairn,  L.52,  10s.  ;  Archibald  Campbell,  Esq.  of  Audi - 
indarroch,  a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  Robert  Hay,  Esq.  of  Linphim, 
a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  William  II.  Macdonald,  Esq.  of  St  Mar- 
tin's, a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  John  Anstruther  Thomson,  Esq.  of 
Charlton,  a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  John  Grant,  Esq.  of  Kilgraston, 
a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  Rev.  Dr  Pusey,  Canon  of  Christ  Church, 
Oxford,  a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  L.100  ; 
Robert  Clerk  Rattray,  Esq.  of  Craighall,  a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ; 
J.  D.  Marries  Stirling,  Esq.  L.105  ;  A.  J.  B.  Hope,  Bee;.,  L.100. 

The  subscribers  of  from  L.50  to  L.10  and  under  are  numerous,  and 
include  many  distinguished  clerical  and  Laj  members  of  the  Church  in 
England  and  Scotland.  According  to  another  announcement  on  the 
29th  of  July  1842,*  the  subscriptions  amounted  to  L.18,00<»,  and.  in- 
cluding the  anticipated  remittances  from  India,  it  may  be  stated  that 

•   In  the  "  Edinburgh  Ai>\  i.ktiser"  newspaper. 


472  HISTOKY  OF  THE 

in  December  that  year,  within  twelve  months  after  the  first  adver- 
tisement, the  sums  collected  for  Trinity  Episcopal  College  exceeded 
L.21,000. 

Among  the  several  sites  which  rumour  assigned  to  the  College,  it 
being  deemed  prudent  by  the  Committee  not  to  erect  it  near  the  Univer- 
sity seats  of  St  Andrews,  Aberdeen,  Glasgow,  and  Edinburgh,  the 
town  of  Perth  was  generally  supposed  to  be  the  place,  and  certainly  the 
"  Fair  City"  has  many  central  and  local  advantages.  This  alarmed 
sundry  members  of  that  Established  Presbytery  ;  and  accordingly  Mr 
Andrew  Gray,  minister  of  the  West  Church,  Perth,  brought  the  pro- 
jected College  before  the  notice  of  the  said  Presbytery  on  the  12th  of 
March  1842,  in  a  long,  incoherent,  and  rambling  address,  mentioned  in 
the  outset  of  the  present  volume,  entitled,  "  Oxford  Tractarianism,  the 
Scottish  Episcopal  College,  and  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church."  The 
occasion  of  this  "  Speech,"  which,  it  was  stated  at  the  time,  was  heard 
with  great  impatience  and  indifference  by  several  of  the  members,  was 
to  "  overture,"  in  the  Presbyterian  phraseology,  the  ensuing  General 
Assembly  in  May,  in  the  following  manner: — "  Whereas,"  said  Mr 
Gray,  in  his  document  proposed  for  the  adoption  of  the  Presbytery, 
*'  pretensions  of  a  very  exclusive  and  intolerant  character,  pointing 
against  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland,  and  such  other  churches 
of  Christ  as  are  not  constituted  according  to  what  is  usually  denomi- 
nated the  Episcopal  form  of  church  government,  and  amounting  to 
a  denial  that  the  said  churches  are  churches  of  Christ  at  all,  are  put 
forward  with  extraordinary  activity  and  zeal  at  the  present  day  by 
many  members  and  office-bearers  of  the  Episcopal  churches  :  Whereas 
great  efforts  appear  to  be  making  by  persons  who  have  wealth  and  in- 
fluence at  their  command,  for  the  propagation  of  the  principles  on  which 
these  offensive  pretensions  are  founded  ;  and  whereas  the  Presbytery 
of  Perth  seem  specially  called  on  to  look  to  this  matter,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  reported  intention  to  erect  a  College  within  their  bounds 
where  the  principles  referred  to  will  be  taught  :  It  is  therefore  humbly 
overtured  to  the  next  General  Assembly  to  adopt  such  measures,  as  to 
their  wisdom  shall  seem  meet,  for  providing  the  members  of  this  Church 
with  information  suited  to  existing  circumstances  on  the  subject  of  her 
scriptural  constitution  and  authority,  and  particularly  for  having  all 
Students  in  theology  thoroughly  trained  in  those  principles  of  ecclesias- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCII.  473 

tical  order  and  government  which  fortify  and  vindicate  the  cause  of 
Presbyterianism  against  the  overbearing  and  unworthy  assumptions  of 
its  adversaries." 

This  "  overture,"  in  which  nothing  is  peculiarly  objectionable,  con- 
sidering the  quarter  from  which  it  emanated,  and  the  opinions  of  its 
supporters,  was  carried  by  a  considerable  majority,  notwithstanding 
many  sensible  and  judicious  remarks  made  by  those  who  opposed  its 
adoption.  It  was  sent  to  the  General  Assembly,  but  it  must  have  been 
expunged  from  the  business  which  came  before  that  body,  as  it  was 
never  even  noticed,  and  has  never  since  been  mentioned.  Probably  the 
leaders  had  prudence  enough  to  see  that  any  endeavour  on  their  part  to 
oppose  the  erection  of  Trinity  College  in  any  parish  in  Scotland  would 
be  a  mere  brutum  fulmen,  and  treated  as  a  ludicrous  and  impotent  at- 
tempt at  a  power  which  the  Presbyterian  Establishment  could  not  wield, 
and,  fortunately  for  the  Episcopal  Church,  it  never  will  possess. 

Mr  Gray's  "  Speech  "  consists  of  quotations,  with  comments,  from 
the  celebrated  Oxford  Tracts,  the  British  Critic,  the  Rev.  William 
Palmer's  "  Treatise  on  the  Church  of  Christ  ;"  certain  proceedings  of 
the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  as  he  finds  these  re- 
ported in  the  "  Record"  newspaper:  Scottish  periodical  controversies 
on  the  projected  College  ;  his  notions  of  the  "  doctrinal  views  of  Scot- 
tish Episcopalians j"  the  "  Exclusive  Dogma,"  as  he  calls  the  Aposto- 
lical Succession  ;  and  passages  from  "  Tracts  for  all  Places  and  all 
Times,"  published  at  Edinburgh  in  1840  by  some  members  of  the  Epis- 
copal Church.  He  produced  "  Documentary  Proof  that  the  Scottish 
Episcopal  Church  unchurch  non-episcopal  Denominations,"  by  numerous 
passages,  as  he  .-elects  them,  from  the  following  writings  of  the  eighteenth 
century  : — 1.  "  A  Friendly  Letter,  &c.  touching  Presbytery,  in  which 
is  plainly  and  fairly  made  appear  how  justly  the  horrid  sin  of  Schism, 
and  sundry  other  gross  errors,  are  chargeable  upon  the  Presbyterians 
of  Scotland,  by  a  Suffering  Member  of  the  Afflicted  Church  in  Scot- 
land Edinburgh,  [726."  2.  "  The  Nature  and  Constitution  of  tho 
Christian  Church,"  published  in  L750,  "of  which  I  find, "  says  Mr  Gray, 
"  that  the  late  Bishop  Jolly  had  a  high  opinion."  3.  "An  Essay  on 
the  Festival  of  Christmas,  by  a  Presbyter  of  the  Suffering  Church  ol 
Scotland/'  \7~>'->.  These  are  succeeded  by  some  extracts  from  Bishop 
Abernethy   Drummonds  Preface  to  the  "Abridgement  of  the   Rer. 


474  HISTORY  OY  THE 

Charles  Daubeny's  Guide  to  the  Church,  by  a  worthy  Scots  Episcopal 
Clergyman,"  by  passages  from  the  "  Abridgement ;"  from  Bishop  John 
Skinner's  "  Primitive  Truth  and  Order  Vindicated,"  and  from  his  two 
Catechisms  ;  from  Bishops  Sandford  and  Gleig,  in  their  edition  of  "  A 
Brief  Explanation  of  the  Church  Catechism,  by  the  Rev.  Basil  Woodd," 
and  published,  with  a  Prefatory  Letter  to  the  clergy  of  their  Dioceses,  in 
1824 ;  from  Bishop  Innes'  Catechism  ;  from  Bishop  Jolly's  Catechism, 
and  his  tract  entitled  "  Some  Plain  Instructions  concerning  the  Nature 
and  Constitution  of  the  Christian  Church,  the  Divine  Appointment  of 
its  Governors  and  Pastors,  and  the  Nature  and  Guilt  of  Schism."  The 
Twenty- Second  Canon  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  on  Baptism, 
from  the  Code  of  Canons  of  1828,  is  next  cited,  followed  by  passages 
from  the  acknowledged  writings  of  the  Rev.  Patrick  Cheyne  of  Aber- 
deen, the  Rev.  J.  B.  Pratt  of  Cruden,  the  Rev.  Heneage  Horsley  of 
Dundee  ;  A  Presbyter's  Sermon,  preached  at  an  ordination  held  by  Bi- 
shop Low  at  Pittenweem,  Fife,  on  the  4th  of  April  1838,  entitled, 
"  The  Tradition  of  the  Christian  Fathers,  the  Standard  Interpretation 
of  Holy  Scripture  ;"  and  Bishop  Russell's  discourse  at  Bishop  Walker's 
consecration  in  1830 — "  The  Historical  Evidence  for  the  Apostolical 
Institution  of  Episcopacy,"  carefully  stating  that  Bishop  Russell  is 
"  the  author  of  the  History  of  the  Church  in  Scotland."  Next  are  cited 
"  A  Plea  for  Primitive  Episcopacy,"  by  the  Rev.  W.  C.  A.  Maclaurin, 
M.A.,  Elgin ;  the  Rev.  David  Aitchison's  little  work,  published  in  1841 
— "  The  Truth  with  Boldness  ;"  and  the  Right  Hon.  W.  E.  Gladstone's 
celebrated  volume — "  The  State  in  its  Relations  with  the  Church." 
Mr  Gray  concludes  the  whole  with  sundry  observations,  to  the  effect 
that  "  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  stands  alone  in  its  bigotry  ;  no, 
not  quite  alone  ;  the  Church  of  Rome  keeps  it  in  countenance" — al- 
though he  knows  not  "  that  even  she  will  go  so  far  as  to  hold  that  the 
people  of  Scotland  are  not  baptized."  He  says — "  We  [the  Presby- 
terians] have  never  maintained  that  the  baptism  of  Episcopalians  is 
null,  or  that  Episcopalian  ministers  are  not  validly  ordained."  He 
then  quotes  "  the  enlightened  and  truly  scriptural  views  contained  in 
our  Confession  of  Faith,  chapter  twenty-five,"  and  adds — "  Let  it  no 
more  be  said  that  Scottish  Episcopalians  do  but  say  of  us  what  we  say 
of  them.  It  is  directly  opposed  to  the  fact.  We  unchurch  them  not, 
but  they  unchurch  us.     We  deny  not  their  baptism,  but  they  deny  ours. 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  475 

We  acknowledge  the  validity  of  their  ordination,  but  they  condemn  us 
as  usurpers  of  the  priesthood,  and  class  us  with  Korah,  Dathan,  and 
Abiram." 

Much  could  be  said  on  these  statements,  inferences,  and  conclusions, 
but  as  this  narrative  is  not  controversial  it  would  be  out  of  place.  Whether 
Mr  Gray  has  quoted  fairly  his  authorities,  or  has  taken  merely  garbled 
and  isolated  passages,  the  present  writer  cannot  say,  as  the  works  cited 
are  not  in  his  possession,  but  in  the  spirit  of  charity  it  may  be  conceded 
that  he  has  done  so  in  an  honourable  manner.  By  what  authority,  then, 
did  he  take  upon  himself  to  give  titles  to  his  extracts,  as  if  these  titles 
were  the  ipsissima  verba  of  the  passages  he  selects  ?  Thus,  Bishop  Jolly 
is  introduced  as  alleging  that  "  forgiveness  of  sins  is  confined  to  the 
Episcopal  Communion" — that,  "  in  order  to  be  Christians,  we  must  be 
Episcopalians" — that  "  the  only  way  to  have  communion  with  Christ 
is  to  receive  Episcopacy" — and  that  "  the  people  of  Scotland  are 
not  baptized."  The  Rev.  J.  B.  Pratt  is  brought  forward  as  main- 
taining, that  "  if  a  man  were  to  leave  the  Episcopal  Church  he  would 
turn  his  back  on  the  Redeemer  ;"  the  Rev.  Heneage  Horsley,  that — 
"  the  promise  of  eternal  salvation  and  the  covenant  of  God  pertain  to 
Episcopalians;"  the  Rev.  W.  C.  A.  Maclaurin,  that  there  is  "  no  hardness 
of  heart  in  denying  the  name  of  churches  to  Presbyterian  congregations  ;" 
the  Rev.  David  Aitchison,  that  "  Episcopacy  is  the  spouse  of  Christ 
and  Bride  of  the  Lamb" — that  the  present  religious  position  of 
Scotland  is  unwholesome  and  wicked — that  "  John  Knox  made  '  deso- 
lato'  a  '  smiling'  land,"  and  an  alleged  "  lament"  by  Mr  Aitchison 
"  over  the  Reformation,"  is  prominently  selected  ;  and  that  the  com- 
pilers of  the  "  Tracts  for  all  Places  and  all  Times,"  of  whom  the  pre- 
sent writer  was  one,  maintain  that  "  all  the  covenant  promises  are  made 
to  Episcopalians,"  and  "  saving  faith  necessarily  implies  obedience  to 
Prelacy."  Yet  these  are  the  titles  which  Mr  Gray  thought  proper  to 
affix  to  the  passages  he  selected  and  printed  in  his  "  Speech" — and 
this  ever?  candid  mind  will  pronounce  most  unfair  and  reprehensible. 
Mr  Gray's  ignorance  of  the  state  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  is 
evident  from  a  sentence  he  quotes  from  the  biographical  notice  of  Bishop 
Jolly,  by  the  Rer.  Patrick  Cheyne  of  Aberdeen,  prefixed  to  the  well 
known  "  A ddross  to  the  Episcopalians  of  Scotland  on  Baptismal  Rege- 
neration."   Mr  Cheyne  observes,  that  at  the  time  of  Bishop  Jolly's  ordi- 


476  HISTORY  OF  THE 

nation  "  the  clergy  of  Scotland  had  to  struggle  with  manifold  priva- 
tions, and  were  exposed  to  no  inconsiderable  danger  in  the  exercise  of 
their  functions."  Mr  Gray  thus  comments — "  The  '  clergy  of  Scotland' 
is  the  name  he  gives  to  thirty  or  forty  individuals  who  at  that  time 
formed  the  office-bearers  of  the  Episcopal  Church."  Now,  even  pre- 
vious to  the  period  of  Bishop  Jolly's  ordination,  there  were  thirty  or 
forty  presbyters  in  the  Diocese  of  Edinburgh  alone. 

The  array  of  Episcopal  artillery  brought  forward  in  the  Established 
Presbytery  of  Perth  was  very  wisely  not  encountered  by  the  General 
Assembly,  and  though  the  whole  was  printed  for  the  edification  of  the 
citizens  of  Perth  in  particular,  it  failed  to  have  the  effect  which  the 
since  famous  author  of  the  "  Speech"  anticipated.  He  was  indeed  com- 
forted by  a  complimentary  article  on  the  subject  in  the  "  Presbyterian 
Review,"  probably  written  by  a  Mr  Campbell,  a  preacher  in  Manchester, 
the  reputed  author  of  several  attacks  on  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church 
in  that  periodical ;  but  some  of  the  denizens  of  the  "  Fair  City"  and 
neighbourhood  had  the  hardihood  to  come  forward  liberally  in  support 
of  the  so  much  dreaded  Trinity  College.  Thus  we  find  in  the  list 
of  subscribers  already  cited — Sir  John  Stuart  Richardson,  Bart.,  of 
Pitfour,  aright  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  John  Grant,  Esq.,  of  Kilgras- 
ton,  a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  Robert  Clerk  Rattray,  Esq.,  of 
Craighall,  a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ;  B.  L.,  Perth,  L.45  ;  E.  M.r 
Perth,  L.45  ;  John  Fitzmaurice  Scott,  Esq.,  of  Seggieden,  L.20  ;  Wil- 
liam H.  Macdonald,  Esq.,  of  St  Martin's,  a  right  of  nomination,  L.105  ; 
Sir  Patrick  Murray  Threipland,  Bart.,  of  Fingask,  L.105  ;  Lady  Mur- 
ray Threipland,  L.15  ;  Misses  Murray  Threipland,  L.10  ;  J.  Stuart, 
Esq.,  Marshall  Place,  Perth,  L.10  ;  W.  H.  Hunter,  Esq.,  Banker, 
Perth,  L.5  ;  William  Ross,  Esq.,  Perth,  L.5  ;  Mr  James  Lawrence, 
slater,  King  Street,  Perth,  L.5,  5s.  ;  Anonymous,  Perth,  L.l  ;  and 
several  others,  not  to  mention  some  munificent  subscriptions  in  various 
parts  of  the  county.  And,  as  if  to  crown  the  whole,  the  Town  Council, 
by  the  casting  vote  of  the  Lord  Provost,  voted  L.500,  or  an  equivalent 
in  value,  if  Trinity  College  was  erected  near  the  city. 

Such  is  the  history  of  Trinity  College  during  the  first  year  of  its  pro- 
jection, and  it  may  in  future  years  be  considered  of  some  importance  in 
the  annals  of  its  foundation.  The  only  other  attempt  to  interfere  with 
it,  though  not  in  a  hostile  manner,  was  in  the  Town  Council  of  Edin- 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  477 

burgh  in  1842,  when  Sir  William  Drysdale  of  Pitteuchar,  the  Trea- 
surer of  the  city,  succeeded  in  his  eccentric  motion  to  obtain  a  Com- 
mittee to  correspond  with  the  projectors,*  and  attempt  to  incorporate 
the  whole,  distinctly  under  Episcopal  superintendence,  with  the  Univer- 
sity of  Edinburgh,  lest  its  foundation  should  injure  that  institution,  of 
which  the  Town  Council  are  the  principal  Patrons.  As  the  proposition 
was  well  meant  and  respectfully  expressed,  a  friendly  answer  was  re- 
turned, to  the  effect  that  such  a  proposal  could  not  be  entertained  for 
various  reasons.  This  reply,  written  by  William  Pitt  Dundas,  Esq.,  the 
Treasurer,  finally  extinguished  a  scheme  on  the  part  of  Sir  William 
Drysdale  which  many  of  the  members  of  Town  Council  declared  at  the 
time  would  never  be  entertained  for  a  moment. 

Thus  far  have  we  followed  the  history  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church  through  all  its  difficulties,  hardships,  vicissitudes,  and  discour- 
agements. We  see  that  its  succession  was  preserved  by  men,  many  of 
whom  were  indeed  humble  as  it  respects  personal  influence  or  temporal 
advantages,  but  entitled  to  veneration  on  account  of  their  conscientious 
principles,  their  conviction  of  the  vast  importance  of  the  deposit  which 
had  been  entrusted  to  them,  and  their  steady,  resolute,  and  devoted 
perseverance  in  their  course.  One  generation  succeeded  another,  and 
the  episcopate  always  derived  new  vigour  by  the  addition  of  some  younger 
and  zealous  presbyter,  until  the  Church  emerged  from  its  depression, 
and  the  Noble,  the  rich,  and  the  powerful,  as  well  as  the  artizan,  the 
peasant,  and  those  of  humble  degree,  worship  at  its  altars,  and  are  com- 
forted and  edified  by  its  public  and  private  services  of  religion,  expressed, 
as  its  members  believe  and  maintain,  by  a  time-hallowed  ritual  in  the 
"  beauty  of  holiness."  What  Divine  Providence  may  have  in  store  for 
this  branch  of  the  Church  Catholic  futurity  alone  will  disclose,  and  it 
would  be  presumptuous  even  to  conjecture.  Certain  it  is  that  the  de- 
pression of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  can  never  be  worse  than  that 
which  it  endured  for  upwards  of  a  century,  whatever  political  changes 
and  convulsions  may  happen  by  the  passions  and  prejudices  of  misguided 

•  The  original  projectors,  according  to  Mr  Gray,  on  the  authority  of  the  Perth- 
shirk  Constitutional,  of  27th  October  1841,  a  newspaper  which  fought  raliantlv 
to  have  Trinity  College  erected  in  Perth,  are  "the  Right  Bon.  W.  K.  Gladstone, 
Mr  Hope,  and  the  Ber«  E.  B.  Ramsay,  of  St  John's  Chapel,  Edinburgh." 


478  HISTORY  OF  THE 

men  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  every  reason  to  anticipate  that 
propitious  years  are  approaching,  which  will  enable  the  members  of 
the  Church,  of  every  order,  rank,  and  profession,  still  more  vigorously, 
faithfully,  and  zealously,  to  rally  round  the  standard  of  apostolical  unity, 
true  religion,  and  sound  learning,  that  they  may  be  protected  equally 
against  the  errors  of  the  Romanists  and  the  uncertain  and  dangerous 
courses  of  sectarianism.  It  would  indeed  have  cherished  and  animated 
the  humble  pastors  in  the  episcopate  of  the  eighteenth  century,  if  amid 
their  privations  they  could  have  foreseen  the  formation  of  societies  for 
the  relief  of  their  suffering  Church  ;  such  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  as 
that  passed  in  1840,  connecting  it  more  closely  in  spiritual  communion 
with  the  Church  of  England  ;  and,  above  all,  the  rich  and  the  powerful  in 
England  and  Scotland  munificently  contributing  towards  the  foundation  of 
a  College  for  the  education  of  many  of  the  future  clergy.  They  rest  from 
their  labours,  some  of  them  in  graves  unnoticed  and  unknown,  and  they 
are  constantly  succeeded  by  others,  who  in  turn  are  gathered  to  their 
fathers.  This  is  the  lot  of  the  Church  on  earth,  the  succession  ever 
changing,  yet  still  the  same  ;  but  as  no  member  of  the  Scottish  Episco- 
pal Church  need  be  ashamed  of  its  past  history,  even  during  its  event- 
ful century  after  the  Revolution,  when  a  mistaken  attachment  to 
an  unfortunate  dynasty  rendered  many  liable  to  the  charge  of  politi- 
cal disaffection,  so,  in  reference  to  the  then  succession  of  Bishops,  we  see  a 
steadiness  of  principle  manifested  in  all  their  proceedings,  the  wisdom  of 
which  is  completely  developed  by  subsequent  circumstances  of  compara- 
tive prosperity.  Of  each  of  those  humble  pastors  in  the  Scottish  episco- 
pate it  may  truly  be  said,  in  the  eloquent  apostrophe  of  Tacitus  to  his 
father- in-law  Agricola — "  Placide  quiescas,  nosque,  domum  tuam,  ab 
infirmo  desiderio,  et  muliebribus  lamentis,  ad  contemplationem  virtutum 
tuarum  voces,  quas  neque  lugeri,  neque  plangi,  fas  est :  admiratione 
te  potius,  temporalibus  laudibus,  et,  si  natura  suppeditet,  militum 
decoremus.     Is  verus  honos,  ea  conjunctissimi  cujusque  pietas." 

To  promote  the  future  prosperity  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church, 
much  depends,  humanly  speaking,  on  the  zealous  co-operation  of  the 
laity  of  its  communion,  and  much  on  the  liberal  sympathies  of  the 
Church  of  England.  As  it  respects  the  former,  it  is  pleasing  to  record 
that  this  is  already  manifested  to  a  great  extent,  much  of  their  former 
apathy  has  disappeared,  and  a  disposition  is  evinced  of  devoted  and 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.  479 

enlightened  attachment  to  those  principles  which  the  Church  has  ever 
maintained.  It  is  only  justice  to  state  that  no  appeal,  properly  autho- 
rised, has  ever  been  made  to  the  Church  of  England  in  vain,  and  the 
venerable  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge  can  never  be 
forgotten  by  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church. 

"  Our  attachment  to  our  own  doctrines,"  says  Bishop  Russell,*  "  has 
never  rendered  us  intolerant  towards  others  whose  tenets  are  different, 
who  either  have  not  taken  the  trouble  to  examine  into  our  system,  or 
who  are  disposed  to  undervalue  it  because  it  has  not  the  authority  of  a 
legal  establishment.  On  all  occasions  we  have  maintained  our  pecu- 
liarities without  any  wish  to  infringe  on  the  Christian  liberty  of  others, 
or  allowing  the  remotest  grudge  to  harbour  in  our  minds.  Did  we  not 
differ  from  the  Presbyterian  church  in  some  very  essential  points,  we 
should  have  no  apology  for  dissenting  from  her  pale,  nor  be  able  to 
acquit  ourselves  of  the  blame  of  a  needless  and  disgraceful  schism. 
But  let  us  maintain  our  differences  in  the  spirit  of  Christian  affection 
and  esteem,  and  live,  as  we  have  hitherto  lived,  on  terms  of  friendship 
with  the  members  of  the  national  communion,  joining  with  them  in 
promoting  all  objects  of  benevolence,  and  all  schemes  of  public  utility. 
Should  any  of  them,  in  an  unguarded  moment,  attack  our  principles, 
or,  as  is  sometimes  done,  ascribe  to  us  principles  which  we  do  not  really 
hold,  let  us  protect  ourselves  with  reason  and  calmness  ;  never  imitating 
the  injustice  we  condemn,  nor  falling  into  the  intemperance  which  they 
themselves  at  a  cooler  hour  must  heartily  regret. 

"  If  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland  enjoys  no  protection  from  the 
State,  farther  than  is  implied  in  a  liberal  toleration,  neither  is  she  in 
any  degree  impeded  in  the  exercise  of  her  discipline,  or  restricted  in 
her  spiritual  prerogative,  by  the  pressure  of  laws  emanating  from  a 
secular  source.  In  these  respects  she  enjoys  all  the  freedom  which  be- 
longed to  the  Primitive  Christians,  before  any  of  the  kingdoms  of  tin- 
world  professed  to  belong  to  the  kingdom  of  the  Redeemer.  Following 
in  her  laws  thuse  principles  which  sho  believes  to  have  regulated  the 
government  of  Christian  communities  in  the  purest  times,  and  adopt* 
ing  in  lur  administration  the  maxims  which  appear  to  have  guided  I 

•  Charge  deHren  .1  to  the  Bpiaeopal  Clergy  of  tin?  City  an. I  District   of  Glftl   "H. 
May  4,  1843,  p.  SO,  24. 


480  HISTORY' OF  THE 

ministers  of  Christ,  before  ambition  could  awaken  in  their  breasts  those 
less  sacred  motives  which  adhere  to  worldly  things. 

"  The  form  of  Episcopacy  which  exists  among  us  is  that  which  has 
been  properly  described  as  moderate,  and  for  the  attainment  of  which 
a  great  effort  was  made  about  two  centuries  ago.  The  legislative  power 
is  vested  alike  in  the  Bishops  and  clergy,  the  consent  of  each  being  held 
indispensable  to  the  enactment  of  our  Canons.  The  administration  of 
our  laws,  too,  is  entrusted  to  both  orders,  as  represented  in  the  Synods 
annually  held,  the  Diocesan  and  the  Episcopal.  The  rights  and  in- 
fluence of  the  presbyter  are  as  carefully  guarded  as  those  of  the  Bishop  ; 
and  the  union  of  the  two,  acting  either  separately  or  together,  gives  a 
beauty  and  a  strength  to  our  system  which  will  never  be  impaired  so 
long  as  we  have  confidence  in  one  another — so  long  as  we  remember 
that  it  is  our  duty  and  our  interest  to  be  of  one  mind  in  the  things  per- 
taining to  God,  and  to  seek  that  unity  and  forbearance  which  the 
blessed  Redeemer  so  strongly  recommended  to  his  immediate  disciples. 
Our  strength  and  security  rest  entirely  on  principle,  warmed  and  en- 
lightened by  confidence  and  mutual  affection  ;  and  the  history  of  the 
Church  in  these  Northern  parts  will  show  how  effectual  such  means  are 
to  resist  the  heaviest  pressure  of  external  circumstances,  the  weight  of 
persecution,  the  frown  of  power,  the  alienation  of  the  great,  and  the 
contempt  of  those  whose  opinions  are  formed  by  a  regard  to  mere  out- 
ward appearance,  Principle  cannot  be  destroyed,  and  it  will  never 
die.  You  may  depress  a  man  to  the  lowest  depth  of  poverty,  you  may 
tear  his  flesh  on  the  rack,  and  give  his  body  to  be  burned,  but  you  can- 
not reach  the  inward  part  where  is  lodged  the  covenant  which  he  has 
made  with  his  God  and  with  his  own  soul.  He  fears  not  them  which 
kill  the  body,  and  after  that  have  no  more  that  they  can  do  ;  and  hence 
the  last  breath  of  the  expiring  martyr  rises  to  heaven,  and  becomes  a 
flame  which  will  either  enlighten  or  consume. — No  Church  was  ever 
more  tried  by  adversity  than  that  to  which  we  belong,  and  by  a  species 
of  adversity,  too,  which  sooner  exhausts  the  principle  of  endurance 
than  a  direct  persecution  pointed  against  the  life.  When  men  are 
dragged  forth  to  scaffolds,  and  held  up  as  a  spectacle  to  a  sympathizing 
and  admiring  multitude,  a  power  of  reaction  is  created  in  the  soul, 
which  laughs  to  scorn  the  weapons  of  such  a  warfare,  and  at  the  same 
time  forges  other  weapons  which  will  in  due  season  avenge  their  cause, 


SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHUKCH.  481 

and  bring  back  their  captivity  like  rivers  in  the  south.  The  iron  which 
entered  into  the  soul  of  the  poor  Episcopalian  during  the  evil  days 
when  penal  laws  hung  over  his  head,  was  not  taken  from  the  burning 
fiery  furnace  ;  it  was  rather  like  that  cold  and  sharp  instrument  which 
pierced  the  heart  of  the  young  Hebrew  when  he  lay  in  the  prison  of 
Egypt,  suffering  at  once  from  forgetfulness,  groundless  suspicion,  and 
contempt.  But  the  pains  and  penalties  denounced  against  the  Scottish 
churchmen  made  no  change  on  their  principles  nor  on  their  determina- 
tion to  adhere  to  them  ;  and  hence,  when  the  hour  of  sorrow  had  passed 
away,  they  were  found  unaltered  as  to  their  creed,  their  solemn  ritual, 
and  their  apostolical  constitution.  In  this  issue  we  cannot  fail  to  per- 
ceive the  value  of  a  fixed  and  intelligible  principle.  Other  communions, 
differently  constituted,  if  they  ceased  to  be  held  together  by  the  bond 
of  a  legal  establishment,  would  fall  asunder  ;  they  would  separate  into 
numerous  sects,  and  in  a  short  time  lose  all  the  characteristics  which 
now  distinguish  them.  The  fate  of  the  Puritans  in  England  illustrates 
what  I  am  now  attempting  to  unfold — the  difference  between  a  system 
founded  on  a  well-defined  principle,  acknowledged  by  all  and  held  in- 
dispensable by  all — and  a  system  which  rests  merely  on  local  opinion, 
is  supported  by  a  few  leaders  who  succeed  in  impressing  their  senti- 
ments on  the  passing  age,  and  which,  having  such  an  origin,  cannot  be 
expected  to  continue  long  in  one  stay. 

"  In  the  circumstances  which  distinguish  the  position  of  our  body,  our 
principles,  while  they  are  clear  and  distinct,  are  most  easily  reduced  to 
practice  ;  and  as  our  views  and  motives  are  the  same,  so,  generally 
speaking,  are  our  feelings  and  conduct.  With  us  there  can  be  no  such 
distinction  as  High-churchman  and  Low-churchman — a  distinction  per- 
haps that  has  no  appreciable  meaning  any  where,  but  which  here  must 
be  positively  absurd.  Wore  we  not  churchmen,  we  ought  not  to  be  pro- 
fessional members  of  the  Communion  to  which  we  belong  ;  and  I  see 
not  how  we  can  be  either  more  or  less. 

"  Being  such  as  we  are,  and  hence  necessarily,  in  point  of  ritual  and 
ecclesiastical  constitution,  different  from  the  church  by  law  established 
in  Scotland,  wo  have  certain  duties  to  perform  and  sentiments  to  cherish 
in  regard  to  our  Presbyterian  brethren.  In  return  for  the  toleration 
which  we  enjoy  and  the  countenance  bestowed  upon  us  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  the   Empire,  we  owo  to  the   Establishment  the  respect  and 

2  ii 


482  HISTORY  OF  THE   SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

support  which  are  due  to  an  institution  which  is  sanctioned  by  the  legis- 
lature, and  by  the  consent  of  a  large  body  of  the  people.  Upon  this 
principle  the  Episcopalians  have  ever  been  found  to  act ;  and  though 
no  other  class  of  dissenters  in  this  country  would  profit  so  much  as 
they  would,  by  the  withdrawal  from  the  established  church  of  her  en- 
dowments and  honours,  yet  they  have  uniformly  appeared  on  the  side  of 
her  friends  ;  refusing  to  participate  in  the  designs  of  those  who  wish  to 
limit  her  influence  and  her  means  of  usefulness.  In  truth,  the  princi- 
ples, I  might  almost  say  the  prejudices,  of  the  Scottish  Episcopalian 
are  all  pointed  towards  the  maintenance  of  order,  subordination,  and 
the  supremacy  of  legitimate  power ;  and,  therefore,  though  he  may  be 
called  to  suffer  loss,  or  to  endure  privations,  for  the  support  of  national 
institutions,  he  is  in  general  found  to  persevere  in  his  endeavours  to  up- 
hold what  the  law  of  the  land  has  sanctioned.  He  is  a  Conservative, 
not  in  the  narrow  acceptation  of  party  nomenclature,  but  in  that  broader 
and  more  comprehensive  sense  which  embraces  national  welfare,  and  the 
permanent  advantage  of  the  whole  community." 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX. 


No.  I. 

STATISTICS  OF  THE  SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

1836.  1837,  1838,  and  1839. 

The  following  statistical  details  of  the  state  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church,  the  congregations,  chapels,  number  of  sittings  in  each,  stipends 
of  the  incumbents,  and  other  matters,  are  taken  from  the  Nine  Reports 
of  the  Commissioners  appointed  by  Parliament  to  inquire  into  the  state 
of  Religious  Instruction  in  Scotland,  whose  First  Report  was  ordered 
by  the  House  of  Commons  to  be  printed  in  1837.  Some  of  the  more 
minute  details,  such  as  seat  rents,  the  number  of  communicants,  and 
average  attendance  at  public  worship,  are  omitted,  because  these  are  fluc- 
tuating, or  at  least  in  many  instances  variable.  The  statements  were  all 
furnished  by  the  incumbents  themselves,  and  are  here  given  in  their  own 
language,  as  they  answered  the  queries  transmitted  to  them  by  the 
Commissioners,  or  according  to  their  personal  declarations  when  exa- 
mined. 


I.— DIOCESE  OF  ABERDEEN. 

Aberdeen. — 1.  St  Andrew's  Chapel.  The  congregation  has  existed 
since  the  Revolution  of  1G88,  and  the  present  elegant  Gothic  edifice,  open- 
ed for  public  worship  in  1817,  at  an  expense  of  nearly  L.8000,  ia  rested  in 
Trustees,  and  applied  solely  to  congregational  purposes.    There  are  wy 


486  APPENDIX. 

few  poor,  strictly  speaking,  belonging  to  the  congregation,  but  a  great  pro- 
portion of  it  belong  to  what  may  be  termed  the  working  classes,  in  which 
number  are  included  tradesmen  and  shopkeepers.  Total  sittings,  1100  ; 
supposed  to  be  connected  with  the  congregation,  nearly  1400.  The  an- 
nual stipend  of  the  senior  minister  is  variable,  according  to  the  funds 
of  the  Chapel ;  that  of  the  junior  minister  is  fixed,  and  amounts  to 
L.120,  derived  from  seat  rents  and  collections.  The  civil  affairs  are 
conducted  by  a  body  of  managers,  appointed  for  life,  and  a  Treasurer. 
Public  worship  is  performed  in  the  Chapel  twice  every  Sunday,  also  on 
every  Wednesday  and  Saturday  throughout  the  year,  and  on  the  Fasts 
and  Festivals  of  the  Church  of  England,  besides  the  day  before  and 
after  communion,  amounting  in  all  to  167,  besides  Sunday  services. 
The  members  of  the  congregation  are  so  widely  scattered,  that  it  is  im- 
possible for  the  ministers  to  extend  week  day  superintendence  to  the 
whole  of  them.  There  is  a  Sunday  school  connected  with  the  congre- 
gation in  the  Flour-Mill  Brae,  attended  by  from  140  to  150,  and  open 
to  all  denominations.     It  is  supported  principally  from  a  bequest.* 

2.  St  John's  Chapel  was  established  in  1812.  The  chapel  was  built 
by  subscription,  and  a  loan  from  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Friendly  So- 
ciety, whose  property  it  afterwards  became.  The  Society  sold  it,  and 
took  an  obligation  from  the  purchaser  to  keep  it  up  as  a  place  of 
Episcopal  worship.  The  present  proprietor  gives  it  for  the  use  of  the 
congregation  rent  free.  Total  sittings,  386  ;  the  stipend  is  from  L.120 
to  L.130,  arising  from  seat  rents  and  collections,  and  is  dependant  on 
the  clear  revenue,  the  balance  of  which,  after  defraying  the  ordinary 
expenses,  is  paid  to  the  minister.  Divine  service  is  performed  in  the 
chapel  162  times  in  the  year,  including  the  two  services  every  Sunday, 
besides  occasional  services.  A  Sunday  school  is  connected  with  the 
congregation.! 

3.  St  Paul's  Chapel,  according  to  the  evidence  of  the  Rev.  John 
Brown,  is  "  a  very  inconvenient,  badly  aired,  ill  situated,  and  insufficient, 
though  church-like  building.  It  belongs  to  the  managers  and  constituent 
members,  and  is  applied  to  none  but  congregational  purposes.  The  chapel 
was  erected  in  1722  at  an  expense  of  L.1000.     It  has  been  enlarged  at 


*  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  William  Browning. 
■\  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  Patrick  Cheyne,  M.A. 


APPENDIX.  487 

various  times,  and  every  spot  turned  to  account.      It  is  said  to  be  per- 
haps the  richest  in  Scotland,  being  possessed  of  a  chapel,  house,  and 
ground,  valued  at  L.2400,  without  any  debt,  besides  a  sum  of  L.5425." 
Total  sittings,  900.     The  amount  of  stipend  is  L.213,  derived  from  en- 
dowments, by  bequests,  and  otherwise,  and  seat  rents.     The  managers 
are  eleven  gentlemen  elected  for  life  by  the  congregation,  in  terms  of 
the  deed  of  constitution.     "  There  are  between  3000  and  4000  persons, 
not  including  children,  in  this  and  the  neighbouring  parishes,  claiming 
the  ministrations  of  the  minister  of  St  Paul's  Chapel.     The  great  bulk 
of  the  congregation  reside  in  the  city  of  Aberdeen.     The  rest  are  very 
much  scattered  over  the  country,  some  as  far  off  as  twenty  or  thirty 
miles,  and  some  attend  the  Chapel  pretty  regularly  from  a  distance  of 
seven  miles."     Divine  service  is  performed  twice  every  Sunday,  and  on 
the  Fasts  and  Festivals,  and  other  days  appointed  by  the  Church.    The 
Chapel  is  called  a  collegiate  charge,  but  hitherto,  at  least  during  Mi- 
Brown's  ministry,  it  was  not  so.* 

Arradoul.— The  congregation  assembles  in  the  village  of  Arradoul, 
parish  of  Rathven,  Banffshire,  in  an  old  chapel  which  is  applied  to  no 
other  purposes.  Total  sittings,  210,  and  the  whole  number  of  souls 
connected  with  the  chapel  is  300,  a  few  of  whom  reside  in  the  adjoin- 
ing parishes  of  Deskford  and  Bellie.  The  income  of  the  minister  is  de- 
rived from  the  interest  of  a  sum  of  L.150,  bequeathed  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Episcopal  clergyman  at  Arradoul,  being  L.5,  14s.,  half  of  the  pro 
duce  of  a  small  piece  of  ground  mortified  for  the  purpose,  being  L.0, 
and  whatever  is  derived  from  seat  rents  and  collections.  The  minister 
has  a  house.     Public  worship  is  performed  in  the  chapel  twice  every 

Sunday.! 

Banff. — The  congregation  in  the  royal  burgh  of  Banff  has  exis 
since  the  Revolution.  The  present  chapel  is  a  substantially  built  edifice 
erected  in  1833-4,  ?f  the  cost  of  about  L.1000,  by  voluntary  subscrip- 
tions ;  and  is  Dot  applied  to  any  other  purpose.  Total  sittings,  :;;.(;. 
\  number  of  the  congregation  reside  in  Gamrie  parish,  and  a  few  in 
those  of  King-Edward,   Alvah,  and  Boyndie.     'The  stipend  is  from 


*  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  John  Brown,  M.A. 
f   Evidence  of  the  Rev,  John  Moir,  M.A. 


488  APPENDIX. 

L. 110  to  L. 11 5,  but  variable,  derived  from  seat  rents  and  collections, 
and  from  some  individuals  contributing  certain  sums  in  addition  to 
their  pew  rents  by  way  of  gratuity.  The  minister  enjoys  the  interest 
of  L.200  bequeathed  for  behoof  of  the  incumbent  of  the  chapel,  under 
control  of  the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese.  Public  worship  is  performed 
twice  every  Sunday,  and  once  on  all  the  holidays  appointed  by  the 
Church  of  England.* 

Crudest. — This  congregation  is  not  reported. 

Cuminestone. — The  small  congregation  in  the  village  of  Cuminestone 
was  formed  about  1791.  Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  primitive 
state  of  the  Church  in  this  quarter,  from  the  fact  that  the  congregation, 
five-sixths  of  whom  are  of  the  poor  and  working  classes,  assembled  in  a 
small  thatched  building  erected  in  1792,  the  cost  of  which  was  only 
L.30.  Total  sittings,  about  100.  In  1836  the  stipend  was  rated  at 
L.53,  of  which  the  sum  of  L.25  was  contributed  by  the  congregation. 
Public  worship  is  performed  in  the  chapel  twice  every  Sunday,  and  nine 
times  in  the  course  of  the  year  on  week  days.t 

Ellon. — The  congregation  has  existed  in  this  village  and  parish  since 
1688.  The  chapel,  which  is  only  applied  to  the  purposes  of  the  congre- 
gation, was  erected  in  1815  at  the  expense  of  L.600,  and  is  held  by  the 
clergyman  on  a  lease  of  99  years  at  a  rent  of  L.2,  10s.  per  annum,  with 
half  an  acre  of  ground.  Total  sittings,  262.  The  stipend  is  from  L.70 
to  L.80,  derived  from  seat  rents,  collections,  and  the  Episcopal  Society. 
Upwards  of  a  hundred  persons  belonging  to  the  congregation  reside  in 
different  parishes  adjoining.  Public  worship  is  performed  twice  every 
Sunday  during  summer,  once  during  the  rest  of  the  year,  and  upon  ten 
week  days.  J 

Fokgue. — It  is  not  known  when  the  congregation  was  formed  in  this 
parish.  The  present  chapel  is  a  comfortable  stone  and  slated  building 
erected  in  1795  ;  it  belongs  to  the  congregation,  and  is  used  only  for  pub- 
lic worship.  Total  sittings,  230.  Several  members  reside  in  the  adjoin- 
ing parishes  of  Inverkeithney,  Huntly,  Marnoch,  and  Drumblade.     The 

*  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  Bruce,  M.  A. 
f  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  John  Taylor,  M.  A. 
X  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Grieve,  M.A. 


APPENDIX.  489 

incumbent  has  a  house  and  glebe,  but  the  emolument  is  not  stated,  and 
is  described  as  variable.  Public  worship  is  performed  in  the  chapel  as 
frequently  as  required  by  the  Rubric* 

Fraserburgh. — The  Episcopal  congregation  has  existed  in  this  town 
and  parish  since  the  Reformation,  and  this  was  long  the  scene  of  the 
ministrations  of  the  venerable  Bishop  Jolly.  The  chapel  was  erected  in 
1793,  at  the  cost  of  L.325,  and  has  since  been  enlarged  and  improved. 
It  is  the  property  of  the  congregation,  and  is  solely  used  for  Divine  ser- 
vice. The  total  number  of  sittings  before  it  was  enlarged  and  altered 
was  288.  Between  200  and  300  members  are  of  the  poor  and  working 
classes.  The  seat  rents  and  collections  are  applied  towards  the  support 
of  the  incumbent,  the  amount  of  which,  it  is  stated,  cannot  be  accurately 
ascertained.  Public  worship  is  performed  in  the  chapel  twice  every 
Sunday,  and  once  on  all  the  inferior  holidays.  A  Sunday  school  meet- 
ing in  the  Town  Hall  is  attached  to  the  congregation,  and  a  regular 
course  of  religious  instruction  is  held  every  Sunday  after  the  evening 
service.  Between  200  and  300  persons  belong  to  the  congregation  who 
reside  in  the  parishes  of  Rathen,  Tyrie,  Aberdour,  and  Pitsligo.f 

Inverttry. — This  congregation  was  formed  since  the  Report  of  the 
Commissioners  was  printed,  and  the  chapel  was  consecrated  in  1842. 

Longside. — The  congregation  has  existed  in  this  parish  since  the  Re- 
volution, and  this  was  for  upwards  of  half  a  century  the  scene  of  the 
ministrations  of  the  Rev.  John  Skinner.  The  congregation  assembles 
in  a  chapel  erected  in  1800  at  the  cost  of  L.429,  defrayed  by  a  sub- 
scription among  the  members,  on  the  property  of  James  Bruce,  Esq.  of 
Innerquhomry  and  Longside,  and  is  held,  with  a  fourth  of  an  acre  at- 
tached, on  a  lease  of  fifty-seven  years  from  January  1801.  Total  sit- 
tings, 551.  The  seat  rents  are  solely  appropriated  to  the  clergyman's 
income,  and  the  collections,  after  a  deduction  of  L.6,  12s.  paid  to  the 
beadle  and  clerk,  are  distributed  among  the  poor.  Public  worship  is 
performed  in  the  chapel  on  the  morning  and  evening  of  each  Sunday 
from  May  to  September,  and  once  throughout  tho  rest  of  the  year,  be- 
sides eighteen  services  on  different  week  days.  Communicants  from 
400  to  44<>.     The  number  of  persons  under  the  charge  of  the  minister  is 

*  Return  by  tlio  Rev.  Andrew  Ritchie. 
f  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  Charles  Pressley,  MA 


490  APPENDIX. 

from  600  to  700,  with  about  90  from  the  parishes  of  St  Fergus,  Deer, 
Peterhead,  and  Lonmay.  About  four -fifths  of  the  whole  are  compre- 
hended under  the  denomination  of  agricultural  labourers,  operatives, 
handicraftsmen,  and  others  of  like  condition.* 

Lonmay. — The  Episcopal  congregation  was  established  in  the  parish 
of  Lonmay  soon  after  the  Revolution.  The  chapel  was  erected  by  the 
congregation  in  1707  at  the  cost  of  about  L.230,  and  is  solely  used  for 
religious  purposes.  Total  sittings,  342.  The  seat  rents  and  collections  are 
applied  towards  paying  the  minister,  and  were  stated  in  1836  to  amount 
to  L.50,  more  or  less.  Public  worship  is  performed  in  the  chapel  every 
Sunday,  and  on  the  Festivals  of  the  Church.  The  number  of  persons, 
old  and  young,  in  the  parish  of  Lonmay  connected  with  the  congregation, 
is  about  200  ;  and  300,  old  and  young,  who  reside  in  the  neighbouring 
parishes  of  Rathen,  Crimond,  Strichen,  and  St  Fergus.f 

Meiklefolla. — This  congregation  in  the  village  of  Meiklefolla,  parish 
of  Fyvie,  is  principally  drawn  from  the  other  parishes,  and  was  stated 
by  the  Presbyterian  incumbent  of  the  parish  to  be  188.  No  farther  in- 
formation was  given. 

Monymusk. — This  congregation  is  not  reported. 
New  Pitsligo. — This  congregation  was  formed  in  the  parish  between 
1800  and  1805.  The  present  chapel  was  built  in  1835  at  the  cost  of 
L.400,  by  Sir  John  Stuart  Forbes,  Bart.,  whose  property  it  is,  and  is 
applied  solely  to  religious  purposes.  Total  sittings  in  the  chapel,  160, 
the  whole  of  which  are  the  property  of  Sir  John  Stuart  Forbes,  Bart., 
by  whom  they  are  let,  and  a  few  are  set  apart  for  the  poor.  The  sti- 
pend is  L.60  per  annum,  paid  by  Sir  J.  S.  Forbes,  with  a  house  and 
glebe,  the  latter  worth  about  L.13,  10s.  Public  worship  is  performed 
every  Sunday  morning  throughout  the  year,  and  on  the  principal  Fasts 
and  Festivals.  Communicants,  120,  who,  with  the  exception  of  two 
families,  are  all  of  the  poor  and  working  classes.  A  number  of  persons 
belonging  to  the  congregation  reside  in  the  adjacent  parishes  of  King- 
Edward,  Aberdour,  Tyrie,  Strichen,  and  New  Deer.j 

Old  Deer. — The  congregation  has  existed  in  this  parish  since  the 


*  Evidence  of  the  Very  Rev.  John  Cummins:. 
"J"  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  George  Hagar. 
%  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  William  Laurie. 


APPENDIX.  491 

Revolution,  and  assembles  in  a  chapel  erected  in  1776,  used  solely  for 
the  celebration  of  Divine  worship.  Total  sittings,  500.  The  seat  rents 
are  applied  to  make  up  the  minister's  salary,  and  the  ordinary  collec- 
tions to  the  poor  members  of  the  congregation.  The  stipend  is  L.82, 
including  L.2  per  annum,  left  by  a  pious  individual,  with  a  house,  but 
no  glebe.  Divine  service  is  performed  twice  every  Sunday  from  the 
Festival  of  Whitsunday  to  the  end  of  August,  and  once  on  the  remain- 
ing Sundays,  and  on  twenty-two  week  days  throughout  the  year.  Be- 
tween fifty  and  one  hundred  members  reside  in  the  adjacent  parishes  of 
Longside,  Lonmay,  New  Deer,  Strichen,  and  Methlic.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  families,  chiefly  landed  proprietors,  they  are  all  of  the 
poor  and  working  classes.* 

Old  Meldrum. — The  congregation  is  supposed  to  have  existed  in  this 
parish  since  the  Revolution,  and  assembles  in  a  small  chapel  erected  at 
the  cost  of  L.200  in  1813,  which  is  used  solely  for  the  celebration  of 
Divine  service.  Total  sittings,  170.  The  seat  rents  and  collections  are 
applied  towards  the  support  of  the  minister,  who  has  a  house  and  about 
an  acre  of  ground,  for  the  latter  of  which  a  feu-duty  of  L.2  per  annum 
is  paid.  Public  worship  is  performed  twice  in  the  chapel  fully  one  half 
of  the  year,  and  once  during  the  remainder,  with  usually  eight  week 
day  services  throughout  the  year.  Upwards  of  fifty  members  reside  in 
neighbouring  parishes,  most  of  whom  are  of  the  poor  and  working 
classes.f 

Peterhead. — This  congregation  was  established  in  the  Parliamen- 
tary burgh  and  parish  of  Peterhead  in  1689,  and  assembles  in  a  chapel 
in  the  town  which  belongs  to  the  members,  who  erected  it  by  voluntary 
subscription  in  1814,  at  the  cost  of  about  L.3000.  The  property  is 
vested  in  the  treasurer  for  the  time  being,  who  is  appointed  by  a  body 
of  fifteen  managers,  elected  annually  by  the  subscribers.  Total  number 
of  sittings,  763  ;  connected  with  the  congregation,  old  and  young,  1172  ; 
communicants,  about  700  ;  poor  and  working  classes  two  thirds  of  the 
whole.  The  stipend  is  L.150,  permanently  secured,  and  derived  from 
the  Beat  rents  and  ordinary  collections.      Public  worship  is  performed 

•  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  Arthur  Ranken,  M.A. 
j-  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  William  Robertson)  M.A. 


492  APPENDIX. 

twice  every  Sunday,  and  on  the  Fasts  and  Festivals  of  the  Church.  A 
Sunday  school  is  connected  with  the  chapel.* 

Portsoy. — The  congregation  in  this  town  and  parish  was  originally 
formed  in  the  neighbouring  parish  of  Fordyce  previous  to  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  assembles  in  a  chapel  erected  in  1797,  and  used  solely  for  the 
celebration  of  Divine  service.  Total  sittings,  120.  The  seat  rents  and 
collections  are  applied  towards  the  support  of  the  incumbent,  and  amount 
to  L.40,  but  he  has  neither  house  nor  glebe  assigned.  Public  worship  is 
performed  twice  every  Sunday  throughout  the  year,  and  on  all  the 
Fasts  and  Festivals  of  the  Church.  The  poor  and  working  classes  con- 
stitute two  fifths  of  the  congregation.! 

Turriff. — This  congregation  is  not  reported. 

Woodhead. — The  congregation  in  this  village,  in  the  parish  of  Fyvie, 
has  existed  since  the  Revolution.  The  chapel  was  built  in  1795,  and 
enlarged  in  1821,  and  is  used  solely  for  the  celebration  of  Divine  service. 
Total  sittings,  180  ;  communicants,  160  ;  connected  with  the  congrega- 
tion, about  200.  The  members  are  chiefly  composed  of  small  farmers. 
The  stipend  is  not  stated.  Public  worship  is  performed  twice  every 
Sunday  during  summer,  and  once  in  winter,  besides  Holidays  and  Fes- 
tivals.! 


II.— UNITED  DIOCESE  OF  DUNKELD,  DUNBLANE, 

AND  FIFE. 

St  Andrews. — The  congregation  has  existed  ever  since  Episcopacy 
was  the  established  religion  in  Scotland.  The  present  chapel  was  fi- 
nished in  1825  at  a  cost  of  about  L.1500  ;  total  number  of  sittings,  170. 
It  belongs  to  the  minister,  vestry,  and  congregation  for  the  time  being, 
and  is  applicable  to  no  other  than  sacred  purposes.  Ministers  stipend, 
L.90,  besides  L.10  from  the  Andersonian  Episcopal  Fund  in  Aberdeen. 

*  Return  of  the  Right  Rev.  Dr  Torry,  and  evidence  of  Mr  George  Mudie,  Trea- 
surer. 

f  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  Cooper,  M.A. 
|  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  David  Wilson,  M.  A. 


APPENDIX.  4D3 

Permanent  so  long  as  the  chapel  revenues  admit.     Public  worship  per- 
formed twice  every  Sunday,  besides  prayers  on  Holidays.* 

Cupar-Fife. — Established  in  1688.  The  present  place  of  worship 
was  finished  in  1820,  and  cost  about  L.3000  ;  sittings,  122.  It  is  vested 
in  trustees  for  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  and  the  congregation,  and 
is  not  applied  to  other  than  congregational  purposes.  Minister's  stipend, 
L.100  per  annum,  besides  the  interest  of  L.450,  bequeathed  by  the  Rev. 
Dr  Bell ;  permanent  so  long  as  the  revenues  of  the  chapel  admit.  Pub- 
lic worship  is  performed  twice  every  Sunday.  + 

Kirkaldy. — Established  about  1813,  under  the  spiritual  jurisdiction 
of  the  Scottish  Bishops.  The  place  of  worship  called  St  Peter's  Chapel 
was  built  in  1813  by  subscription,  under  the  chartered  provision  of 
the  congregation,  at  a  cost  originally  of  L.G00  ;  about  L.200  have  been 
laid  out  upon  it  since ;  number  of  sittings,  122.  The  property  is  vested 
in  the  minister  and  managers  for  the  time  being,  the  latter  chosen 
from  year  to  year.  It  is  used  only  for  public  worship.  The  mini- 
ster's stipend  consists  of  what  remains  in  the  general  funds  after  de- 
fraying all  expenses.  Public  worship  is  performed  on  Sundays,  and 
on  the  Fasts  and  Festivals  of  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland.]:  In 
1842  the  congregation  had  so  much  increased  under  the  pastoral  care 
of  the  Rev.  Norman  Johnston,  A.B.,  that  subscriptions  were  commenced 
for  a  new  chapel,  the  present  edifice  being  too  small,  and  very  incon- 
veniently situated. 

Dunfermline. — This  congregation  was  not  formed  when  the  Commis- 
sioners were  pursuing  their  inquiries.  The  clUipel  was  finished  and 
consecrated  in  1842. 

Pittenweem. — This  congregation  is  included  in  the  United  Dioceses 
of  Moray,  Ross,  and  Argyll,  during  the  episcopate  of  the  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  Low.     It  is  not  reported. 

Blair-Atholl. — Established  shortly  after  the  Revolution.  The  con- 
gregation assembles  for  public  worship  in  a  chapel  which  was  built  about 
1707,  at  Kilmavconaig  ;  cost  not  ascertained.  No  person  has  any  right 
over  the  church  but  the  clergyman  for  the  time  being.  It  ia  applied 
to  no  other  purpose.  Number  of  sittings  about  200.  The  Btipend  is 
L.80,  chiefly  derived  from  the  Scottish   Episcopal   Church   Soi-ictv 

•  Evidence  of  C.  J.  Lyon,  M.  A. 

t  Evidence  of  the  Roy.  <;.  <;.  Milne,  M.  \ 

}  Evidence  of  Mr  ThofflM  Millar,  Tnasui  <  I 


494  APPENDIX. 

Divine  service  performed  twice  every  Sunday,  Christmas  Day,  Good 
Friday,  and  Ascension  Day,  and  once  at  least  six  other  days  throughout 
the  year.* 

[Perth. — The  chapel  belongs  to  a  number  of  gentlemen  in  the  dis- 
trict, and  is  applied  to  no  other  purposes  than  those  of  the  congregation. 
Number  of  sittings  not  stated,  but  probably  upwards  of  300.  The  mi- 
nister's stipend  is  L.180  ;  public  worship  is  performed  twice  on  Sundays, 
besides  on  Festivals].! 

Coupar- Angus. — The  congregation  was  established  in  1824,  and  as- 
sembles for  public  worship  in  the  upper  flat  of  a  house  fitted  up  as  a 
chapel,  and  applied  to  no  other  purpose,  belonging  to  a  private  indivi- 
dual, and  the  rent  paid  by  some  of  the  members.  The  sittings  are 
60  :  Annual  emolument  of  the  minister,  L.45.  Public  worship  is  per- 
formed once  every  Sunday.  The  minister  also  officiates  at  two  other 
chapels  in  the  adjoining  parishes  of  Meigle  and  Alyth.j 

Blairgowrie. — The  chapel  was  erected  in  this  village  and  parish  in 
1842,  by  the  Rev.  John  Marshall. 

Kirriemuir This  congregation  is  stated  to  have  existed  since  1561, 

and  assembles  for  public  worship  in  the  chapel,  built  in  1795,  the  pri- 
vate property  of  Mr  Lyell  of  Kinnordy.  It  is  used  for  no  other  pur- 
poses. Total  sittings,  800.  The  annual  emolument  is  from  L.60  to 
L.70,  derived  from  the  voluntary  subscriptions  of  a  few  families,  a  very 
few  seat  rents,  and  Sunday  collections.  It  is  described  as  very  vari- 
able, and  not  permanent,  depending  greatly  upon  regular  attendance 
and  residence  in  the  country.  Public  worship  is  performed  twice  every 
Sunday,  and  once  a-day  on  the  other  Festivals  and  Fasts  appointed  by 
the  Episcopal  Church.  Members  of  congregation  reside  in  the  parishes 
of  Cortachy,  Airlie,  Kingoldrurn,  Kinnettles,  Oathland,  and  Tannadyce.§ 

Forfar. — The  congregation  has  existed  in  the  parish  and  town  of 
Forfar  from  time  immemorial,  and  assembles  in  a  chapel  erected  in 
1824,  at  the  expense  of  about  L.1000,  used  solely  for  public  worship. 
The  chapel  is  officially  vested  in  the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Dunkeld 
and  his  successors.     Total  sittings,  350.     The  annual  stipend  is  L.130, 

*  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  W.  C.  A.  M'Laurin,  M.A. 

]  Evidence  of  John  M'Whannell,  Esq.  Treasurer.     ,The  Episcopal  congregation 
at  Perth  was  not  in  communion  with  the  Church  in  1842. 
\  Evidence  of  the  Very' Rev.  John  Torry,  M.A. 
§  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  John  Buchan.     t  ^ 


APPENDIX.  495 

derived  from  seat  rents,  Sunday  collections,  and  the  private  subscrip- 
tions of  individual  members.  Public  worship  is  performed  in  the  cha- 
pel twice  every  Sunday,  on  every  Friday  during  Lent,  and  on  the  usual 
Fasts  and  Festivals  of  the  Church.  From  50  to  100  persons  reside  in 
other  parishes.* 

Muthill. — This  congregation  is  not  reported  by  the  Commissioners. 

Strathtay. — Not  reported  by  the  Commissioners. 

Dunkeld. — No  information. 

Dunblane. — The  congregation  was  formed  in  1842,  and  public  wor- 
ship was  performed  on  Sunday,  the  30th  of  October,  by  the  Rev.  B.  F. 
Couch,  M.A.  of  St  Peter's  College,  Cambridge. 


III.— UNITED  DIOCESE  OF  MORAY,  ROSS,  AND  ARGYLL. 

Aberchirder. — The  congregation  in  this  village,  in  the  parish  of 
Marnoch,  was  formed  about  1817,  and  assembles  in  a  chapel  built  by 
the  late  proprietor  of  the  estate  of  Auchintoul,  the  use  of  which  is  given 
gratuitously.  Total  sittings,  100  ;  almost  the  whole  of  the  members 
are  of  the  poor  and  working  classes.  Public  worship  was  only  per- 
formed in  the  chapel  on  each  alternate  Sunday  till  1836,  when  a  stated 
clergyman  was  appointed. 

Forres. — Not  reported  by  the  Commissioners  in  1836. 

Fochabers. — This  congregation  is  not  reported  by  the  Commis- 
sioners. 

Huntly — This  congregation  has  existed  in  the  town  and  parish  of 
Huntly  since  the  Revolution,  and  long  assembled  in  a  small  slated 
chapel,  applied  to  no  other  purpose  than  that  of  Divine  worship,  erected 
on  the  Gordon  estate  by  subscription  in  1770.  The  chapel  is  calculated 
to  contain  from  130  to  140.  The  seat  rents  and  collections  are  applied 
to  the  support  of  the  minister,  whose  other  emoluments  are  derived 
from  tho  dividends  of  three  sums  of  L.500,  L.200,  and  L.100,  invested 
in  the  three  per  cent,  stock,  in  the  name  of  certain  Trustees.  The 
greater  part  of  the  congregation  are  of  the  working  classes,  and  of  those 
possessing  small  farms.t 

•   Evidence  of  the  Rev.  John  Skinner,  M.A. 
f   Evidence  of  tho  Rev.  James  Walker. 


496  APPENDIX. 

Keith. — The  congregation  in  this  parish  assembles  in  a  small  chapel 
erected  by  the  Rev.  John  Murdoch,  the  incumbent,  in  1807,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  about  L.200,  and  is  only  used  for  Divine  worship.  Number  of 
sittings,  150,  all  occupied  by  the  poor  and  working  classes.  The  mini- 
ster states,  that  though  under  no  obligation  to  do  so,  he  intends  to 
make  over  the  chapel,  with  the  house  and  garden  attached  to  it,  to  his 
successor  without  compensation,  the  congregation  being  too  poor  to  re- 
deem it.  The  sums  drawn  for  sittings,  though  there  are  no  regular 
seat  rents,  and  collections,  belong  to  the  minister.  Public  worship  is 
performed  in  the  chapel  as  frequently  as  the  Rubrics  of  the  Church  re- 
quire, or  as  circumstances  will  permit.* 

Inverness — The  congregation  has  existed  in  the  town  of  Inverness 
since  the  Revolution.  The  former  chapel  was  built  in  1801,  at  the  cost 
of  L.1000,  but  an  elegant  and  commodious  one  was  erected  after  1836, 
containing  600  sittings.  The  annual  emolument  is  L.l  80,  derived  from 
seat  rents,  collections,  offertories,  and  fees  for  occasional  offices,  such  as 
marriages,  baptisms,  and  funeral  services.  Public  worship  is  performed 
twice  every  Sunday,  and  on  all  the  Fasts  and  Festivals  of  the  Church. 
The  minister  does  not  extend  his  exertions  beyond  his  own  congrega- 
tion, except  when  occasionally  called  upon  to  officiate  to  the  Troops 
at  Fort-George,  twelve  miles  distant.  Members  of  the  congregation 
reside  in  the  parishes  of  Kirkhill,  Daviot,  Moy,  Croy,  and  Nairn,  t 

Rothesay,  in  the  Island  of  Bute. — The  congregation  was  not  formed 
till  after  1838,  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Hood. 

Lochgilphead. — This  congregation  was  formed  in  1842. 

Afpin. — The  congregation  in  this  sequestered  district  of  Argyllshire 
has  existed  since  the  Revolution.  According  to  a  census  taken  in  1831, 
the  total  number  of  persons  amounted  to  1439,  and,  with  the  exception 
of  a  few  gentlemen's  families,  all  are  of  the  poor  and  working  classes. 
The  new  chapel  at  Balachelish,  erected  in  1842,  can  accommodate  800 
persons.  It  is  near  the  valuable  slate  quarries  belonging  to  Charles 
Stewart,  Esq.  The  chapel  is  used  solely  for  the  celebration  of  Divine 
service.  In  the  Fourth  Report  of  the  Commissioners,  printed  in  1836, 
it  is  stated  that  the  annual  sum  raised  by  seat  rents  was  L.31 ,  and  that 
all  the  emoluments  amounted  to  L.67.     Service  was  then  performed 

*  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  John  Murdoch,  M.  A. 

f  Evidence  of  the  Very  Rev.  Charles  Fyvie,  M.  A. 


APPENDIX.  497 

every  alternate  Sunday  at  Balachelish  and  Portnacroish,  and  in  one  or 
other  of  the  chapels  on  the  Holidays  of  the  Church.  An  occasional 
Sunday  service  was  given  in  Duror  and  Glencrerin  for  the  benefit  of 
such  old  people  as  could  not  attend  the  chapels  ;  but  the  number  who 
availed  themselves  of  it  could  not  be  accurately  ascertained.  When 
the  number  attending  was  larger  than  the  chapels  could  accommodate, 
Divine  service  was  performed  in  the  open  air.* 

Portnacroish. — This  congregation  has  now  a  stated  pastor.  The 
affairs,  by  the  feu-charter  granted  at  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the 
chapel,  are  managed  by  the  Trustees,  and  their  heirs  and  successors,  so 
long  as  they  shall  continue  members  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  The 
chapel  cost  about  L.200,  and  has  sittings  for  120  persons.  The  annual 
sum  raised  by  seat  rents  was  L.14,  and  the  average  collections  only  L.l 
annually,  f 

Carroy. — The  congregation  at  this  locality  in  the  Island  of  Skye  was 
formed  by  the  exertions  of  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Low,  and  the  Rev. 
William  Greig,  M.A.  was  the  first  incumbent.  Bishop  Low  thus 
writes  of  the  state  of  the  Church  in  Skye  to  the  Society  for  Promoting 
Christian  Knowledge,  as  it  appears  in  the  Annual  Report  for  1837 — 
"  You  will  be  pleased  to  learn  that  our  primitive  Apostolic  Communion 
in  Scotland  is  gradually  extending  itself.  Within  the  last  twelve 
months  I  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  establish  a  new  Episcopal  con- 
gregation in  a  very  remote  part  of  my  Diocese,  the  Isle  of  Skye,  but  at 
present  the  congregation  is  totally  destitute  of  a  place  of  worship,  and 
the  poor  Islanders  can  contribute  nothing  towards  the  building.  I  am 
not  forgetful  of,  and  do  now  thankfully  acknowledge,  the  Society's  re- 
peated munificence  to  my  Diocese  on  former  occasions."  The  Board, 
at  the  request  of  the  Bishop,  agreed  to  grant  L.25  towards  building  the 
chapel  in  the  Island  of  Skye. 

Stornoway. — The  congregation  in  the  remote  sea-port  town  of  Stor- 
noway,  in  the  Lewis,  was  formed  about  1837,  and  a  neat  chapel  is  now 
erected. 

Fort- William. — The  congregation  at  Fort-William,  in  Kilmalie 
parish,  InverneBS-shire,  was  formed  soon  after  the  Revolution.  The 
present  chapel  is  a  well  built  edifice,  erected  in  1817  by  voluntary  snb- 


•  Evidence  of  the  Her.  Paul  MacCll.  I   Ibid. 


2  i 


498  APPENDIX. 

scription,  and  cost  from  L.500  to  L.600.  It  is  the  property  of  the  con- 
gregation, for  whom  it  is  held  by  six  trustees,  two  of  whom  are  always 
the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  and  the  incumbent.  The  chapel  is  applied 
to  no  other  purpose.  Total  sittings,  250.  The  stipend  is  now  increased 
by  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  Society  to  L.80  per  annum.  Divine 
service  is  performed  twice  every  Sunday,  in  the  forenoon  in  English, 
and  in  the  afternoon  in  Gaelic.  The  incumbent  has,  since  1828,  super- 
intended the  scattered  members  of  the  Church  in  the  remote  and  moun- 
tainous districts  of  Morven,  Sunart,  and  Moydart.* 

Dingwall  and  Strathnairn. — Not  reported  by  the  Commissioners. 

Arpafeelie  and  Fortrose. — Not  reported  by  the  Commissioners. 

Highfield. — This  congregation  is  not  reported  by  the  Commissioners. 


IV.— DIOCESE  OF  BRECHIN. 

Brechin. — The  congregation  has  existed  in  the  city  of  Brechin  ever 
since  the  non-establishment  of  Episcopacy  in  Scotland.  The  chapel  is 
held  in  trust  by  certain  members  of  the  congregation,  and  is  applied  to 
no  other  purposes.  Total  sittings,  300.  The  annual  emolument  of  the 
minister  is  L.100,  derived  from  seat  rents  and  collections,  permanently 
secured  by  a  written  obligation  by  the  managers  or  vestrymen.  Public 
worship  is  performed  twice  every  Sunday,  and  on  the  Holidays  of  the 
Church. f  Several  members  of  the  congregation  reside  in  the  adjoin- 
ing parishes  of  Menmuir,  Strickathrow,  Marykirk,  Caraldstone,  Farn- 
well,  Mary  town,  Edzel,  and  Fettercairn. 

Dundee. — The  congregation  has  been  established  in  this  town  since 
the  Revolution.  The  present  St  Paul's  Chapel  was  erected  in  1812,  at 
the  expense  of  L.3686,  of  which  the  sum  of  L.2366  was  defrayed  by 
contributions  and  by  the  sale  of  the  old  chapel.  In  1829  the  congre- 
gation was  joined  by  the  one  known  by  the  designation  of  the  "  English 
Episcopal  congregation."  Total  sittings,  504.  Since  1835,  the  num- 
ber of  communicants  and  of  persons  in  the  habit  of  attending  has  in- 
creased, in  consequence  of  another  small  Episcopal  congregation  having 

•   Evidence  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  M'Lennan. 
f  Evidence  of  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Moir,  D.D. 


APPENDIX.  499 

been  united  to  St  Paul's.  The  stipend  is  L.200  per  annum,  derived 
from  the  general  revenue.  Public  worship  is  performed  in  the  Chapel 
twice  every  Sunday,  and  on  the  Fasts  and  Festivals  of  the  Church, 
once  on  the  Saints'  Days,  and  on  every  Wednesday  and  Friday  during 
Lent.* 

Arbroath. — The  congregation  has  existed  since  the  Revolution.  The 
chapel  belongs  to  the  congregation,  and  is  used  only  for  the  purposes  of 
public  worship  ;  sittings,  390.  The  stipend  is  L.112  per  annum,  with 
L.10  arising  from  a  mortification,  and  the  interest  of  L.220  in  lieu  of  a 
manse.  Public  worship  is  performed  twice  every  Sunday,  and  on  the 
Holidays  of  the  Church. t 

Montrose. — The  one  congregation  has  no  record  of  the  date  of  its 
formation.  The  house  which  the  members,  who,  with  the  exception  of 
a  few  genteel  families,  are  operatives,  occupy,  was  not  originally  built 
for  a  chapel,  and  is  rented  from  a  society  of  Masons.  It  is  applied  to 
no  other  purposes  than  as  a  place  of  worship.  Total  number  of  sittings, 
170.  No  annual  amount  of  the  emoluments  is  stated,  because,  being  de- 
rived from  precarious  sources,  it  varies  considerably.  Public  worship 
is  performed  twice  every  Sunday,  and  occasionally  on  week  days  on  the 
Festivals  of  the  Church.  J 

[The  congregation  of  St  Peter's  Chapel,  Montrose,  was  first  establish- 
ed after  the  Revolution.  The  present  Chapel  was  erected  in  1724,  and 
is  used  solely  for  the  purposes  of  Divine  service.  The  cost  is  not  ascer- 
tained, and  the  building  belongs  in  a  great  measure  to  the  descendants 
of  the  original  founders  or  proprietors.  Total  sittings,  about  800.  The 
annual  stipend  is  L.186,  derived  partly  from  the  interest  of  money  be- 
queathed to  the  funds  of  the  Chapel,  and  partly  from  the  congregation, 
secured  by  a  written  promise.  In  lieu  of  a  house  the  minister  enjoys 
the  interest  of  a  legacy  of  L.600  for  the  erection  of  a  house  for  the  in- 
cumbent. Public  worship  is  performed  in  the  Chapel  twice  every  Sun- 
day, and  on  the  Holidays  of  the  Church.  Several  members  of  the  con- 
gregation reside  in  the  parishes  of  Farnwell,  Dun,  St  Cyrus,  and  Logic- 
Pert.  ]§ 

*   Evidence  of  the  Very  Rev.  Heneage  Horsley,  M.  A. 
|   Evidence  of  the  Rev.   William  Henderson,  M.A. 
I  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  Patrick  Cushnie,  M.A. 
§    Evidence  of  the  Kcv.  John  Dodgson. 


500  APPENDIX. 

Laurencekirk. — The  congregation  was  established  in  1793,  when  the 
chapel  was  built,  at  the  expense  of  about  L.1000,  by  public  subscription. 
It  belongs  to  the  clergyman  and  congregation,  and  is  applied  to  no  other 
purposes  than  the  celebration  of  Divine  service.  Total  number  of  sittings, 
205.  The  stipend  is  about  L.100  per  annum,  including  the  parsonage- 
house  and  glebe.  It  partly  consists  of  L.40  in  money,  and  forty  bolls 
of  oatmeal,  secured  on  the  estate  of  Johnstone  by  deed  of  Lord  Garden- 
stone.  Public  worship  is  performed  twice  every  Sunday,  and  on  the 
Festivals  of  the  Church.  Members  of  the  congregation  reside  in  the  pa- 
rishes of  Fettercairn,  Fordoun,  Arbuthnot,  Bervie,  Benholme,  St 
Cyrus,  Garvock,  and  Marykirk.* 

Muchalls. — The  congregation  in  this  fishing  village,  in  the  parish  of 
Fetteresso,  Kincardineshire,  was  formed  soon  after  the  Revolution. 
With  few  exceptions  the  members  are  all  poor  people,  and  the  greater 
part  of  them  fishermen  and  their  families.  The  congregation  assembles 
in  a  chapel  belonging  to  the  members,  and  applied  solely  to  the  pur- 
poses of  Divine  worship,  built  in  1831  at  the  expense  of  L.300,  which 
is  stated  to  be  considerably  below  its  value.  Total  sittings,  176.  The 
annual  emolument  of  the  minister  is  now  L.80,  of  which  the  congrega- 
tion contribute  L.26,  as  seat-rents  and  ordinary  collections.  The  in- 
cumbent has  a  house  and  about  half  an  acre  of  ground,  the  former  built 
by  subscription  among  the  members.  Public  worship  is  performed 
twice  every  Sunday  during  four  months  in  summer,  and  once  during 
the  rest  of  the  year,  and  sometimes  on  week  days,  such  as  Ash- Wednes- 
day, Good  Friday,  &c.f 

Katerline. — The  congregation  in  the  fishing  village  of  Katerline  in 
Kinneff  parish,  Kincardineshire,  was  long  connected  with  that  of  Drum- 
lithie,  but  a  resident  pastor  was  appointed  in  1842. 

Drumlithie. — The  congregation  in  this  village,  in  the  parish  of  Glen- 
bervie,  assemble  in  a  neat  chapel  dedicated  to  St  John.  Divine  service 
is  performed  twice  every  Sunday,  and  on  the  Fasts  and  Festivals  of  the 
Church.  The  statistics  of  this  congregation  are  not  reported  by  the 
Commissioners. 

Stonehaven. — Not  reported  by  the  Commissioners. 

*  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  W.  M.  Goalen. 
j-  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  James  Smith. 


APPENDIX.  501 


V.— DIOCESE  OF  GLASGOW. 

Leith. — The  congregation  of  St  James'  Episcopal  Chapel  has  exist- 
ed at  least  since  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  and  a  Nonjuring  congrega- 
tion of  an  earlier  date  merged  into  it  shortly  after  1802.  The  Chapel 
in  Constitution  Street  was  built  in  1805  at  the  expense  of  about  L.1600, 
and  belongs  to  the  congregation,  who  are  represented  by  twelve  of  their 
number  as  managers.  The  chapel  is  not  applied  to  any  other  purpose 
than  the  celebration  of  Divine  service.  Total  sittings,  380,  and  the 
whole  of  those  who  attend  are  resident  in  nearly  equal  numbers  in  the 
parishes  of  South  and  North  Leith.  They  consist  of  the  mercantile 
classes,  including  a  few  shopkeepers,  with  the  exception  of  some  indi- 
viduals of  the  poor  and  working  classes.  The  seat-rents  and  proceeds 
of  the  ordinary  collections  are  applied  to  the  general  purposes  of  the 
Chapel,  including  the  minister's  salary,  the  organist's,  feu-duty,  and  the 
expense  of  repairs,  and  occasionally  to  the  relief  of  the  poor.  The  total 
amount  of  emolument  enjoyed  by  the  clergyman  is  L.200.* 

Glasgow. — 1.  St  Andrew's  Episcopal  Chapel,  near  the  Green,  was 
established  in  1750,  and  was  united  to  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church 
in  1806.  The  congregation  assembles  in  a  substantial  stone  edifice, 
surrounded  by  a  cemetery,  built  in  1750  at  the  cost  of  about  L.2000, 
repaired  in  1813  at  the  expense  of  L.400,  and  again  in  1834  for  L.200. 
Total  sittings,  630.  Upwards  of  200  are  of  the  poor  and  working 
classes,  consisting  of  weavers,  petty  shopkeepers,  and  dealers  in  old 
clothes,  and  the  whole  congregation  is  scattered  throughout  the  city  and 
neighbourhood.  The  seat-rents,  ordinary  collections,  and  produce  of 
mortifications,  are  applied  to  the  payment  of  the  minister's  salary,  clerk, 
organist,  beadles,  pew-opener,  and  interest  of  debt,  The  extraordinary 
collections  are  applied  to  their  special  purposes.  The  poor  for  whom 
the  collections  are  made  are  aged  infirm  people  belonging  to  the  con- 
gregation. The  minister  had  a  stipend  of  L.200  per  annum  previous 
to  1836,  of  which  the  sum  of  L.100  was  a  fixed  salary.  Divino  service 
i-  performed  twice  every  Sunday,  on  the  Fasts  and  Festivals  of  the 
Church,  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays  during  Lent,  and  every  day  on 

*   ESriden fthe  Right  Rev<  Dr  Russell,  and  <>f  Mr  Gunn,  Treasurer. 


502  APPENDIX. 

Passion  Week.  The  minister  stated  that  there  were  in  the  city  of  Glas- 
gow and  Gorbals  about  10,000  Episcopalians,  of  whom  he  calculated 
about  4000  were  chiefly  Irish  weavers  and  labourers,  altogether  destitute 
of  church  accommodation  and  the  means  of  religious  instruction  in 
connection  with  their  own  Church.* 

St  Mary's  Episcopal  Chapel  accommodates  the  congregation  existing 
in  Glasgow  since  the  Revolution.  The  Chapel  was  finished  in  1825,  at 
the  expense  altogether  of  L.6324,  and  belongs  to  the  contributors.  The 
number  of  sittings  is  about  930.  By  the  constitution  of  the  chapel  the 
one  half  of  the  whole  seat-rents  and  ordinary  collections  go  to  the  mini- 
ster in  name  of  stipend,  and  the  other  half  are  applied  to  the  ordinary 
expenses  of  the  congregation.  The  sacramental  collections  are  devoted 
entirely  to  the  benefit  of  the  poor,  and  the  extraordinary  collections  to 
their  special  purposes.  The  stipend  for  1835-6  was  L.273,  and  though 
the  annual  amount  varies,  the  principal  is  permanent,  and  is  secured  by 
deed  of  constitution.  There  is  besides  a  sum  of  L.200  vested  in  trust 
in  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Friendly  Society,  the  interest  of  which  goes 
to  the  clergyman,  and  also  a  bequest  of  L.100  to  the  clergyman  and 
managers  for  the  education  of  children  of  the  congregation.  Public 
worship  is  performed  twice  every  Sunday,  and  on  the  Fasts  and  Festi- 
vals of  the  Church  ;  also  a  monthly  lecture  previous  to  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, and  a  weekly  lecture  during  Lent,  Catechetical  instruction  is  af- 
forded to  the  young  members  of  the  congregation  for  about  nine  months 
in  the  year,  and  there  is  a  Sunday  School  for  the  children  of  the  poor. 
The  minister  considers  the  week-day  superintendence  of  his  own  con- 
gregation to  be  more  than  he  can  accomplish  to  his  satisfaction,  and 
that  it  must  be  very  inadequate  when  the  whole  duties  are  devolved 
upon  one  clergyman,  t 

The  congregation  of  Christ  Church,  in  the  suburb  of  the  Calton  or 
Mile-End,  was  formed  by  the  exertions  of  the  Rev.  David  Aitchison, 
M.A.  in  1835.  There  were  then  two  places  of  worship,  one  in  Main 
Street,  Bridgeton,  and  the  other  in  Claythorn  Street,  each  seated  for 
about  300.  The  following  account  of  the  congregation  before  the  erec  - 
tion  of  Christ  Church,  to  which  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian 


*  Evidence  of  the  Very  Rev.  William  Routledge. 
|  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  George  Almond. 


APPENDIX.  503 

Knowledge  voted  L.100,  is  from  a  letter  of  Bishop  Walker,  an  extract 
of  which  is  given  in  the  Annual  Report  for  1837  : — "  After  my  visita- 
tion held  at  Glasgow  on  the  3 1st  of  August  [1836],  I  went  with  my  fa- 
mily to  Dunoon  on  the  Clyde,  having  arranged  to  visit  Mr  Aitchison's 
interesting  congregation,  and  to  administer  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  there  on  Sunday  the  2d  of  October.  This,  notwithstanding  the 
state  of  the  weather,  I  happily  accomplished.  I  first  saw  the  school,  on 
which  Mr  Aitchison's  exertions  have  evidently  not  been  lost,  and  a  most 
interesting  sight  it  was.  A  congregation  of  poor  and  decent  people  was 
assembled,  and  the  room  crowded.  I  never  was  so  much  moved  as  when 
I  heard  those  poor  people  raise  their  morning  hymn.  The  whole  service, 
though  in  a  wretched  place,  was  admirable.  Fifty  persons,  old  and 
young,  all  poorly  but  all  decently  dressed,  communicated  with  every 
mark  of  decency  and  true  devotion."  The  present  edifice  of  Christ 
Church  was  partly  erected  by  subscription,  but  chiefly  by  the  munifi- 
cence of  Mr  Aitchison.  It  is  seated  for  about  1000  persons,  and  the 
whole  cost,  including  two  school-rooms,  and  nearly  three-fourths  of  an 
acre  of  burying-ground,  was  upwards  of  L.2000.  Almost  all  are  of  the 
poor  and  working  classes,  and  a  great  proportion  are  hand-loom  weavers. 
Many  are  Irish  emigrants,  and  a  very  few  are  Highlanders.  Public 
worship  is  performed  twice  every  Sunday,  and  the  minister  superintends 
a  Sunday  School  of  boys  and  girls.  Mr  Aitchison  calculated  that  there 
were  still  7000  Episcopalians  in  Glasgow  and  the  suburbs,  consisting 
chiefly  of  Irish  emigrants,  without  any  place  of  worship.* 

St  Jude's  Episcopal  Chapel,  near  Blythswood  Square,  was  erected, 
and  the  congregation  formed,  subsequently  to  the  Second  Report  of  the 
Commissioners  printed  in  1837.  This  congregation  is  chiefly  composed 
of  the  upper  classes.     The  chapel  is  a  large  oblong  Grecian  edifice. 

AuiDKiE. — In  the  village  of  Coatbridge,  near  the  populous  town  of 
Airdrie,  eleven  miles  from  Glasgow  on  the  Edinburgh  road,  the  erec- 
tion of  the  chapel  was  in  progress  in  1842. 

Hamilton. — This  congregation  was  formed  in  1842,  and  a  hall  fitted 
up  as  a  temporary  place  of  worship  until  the  erection  of  a  proper 
chapel. 

Paisley. — The  Episcopal  congregation  in  Paisley  was  established  in 

•  Endenoe  of  the  Rev,  l>i\irl  Aitchison,  M  \ 


504  APPENDIX. 

1817,  and  assemble  for  public  worship  in  Trinity  Chapel,  erected  in 
1833,  at  the  cost  of  L.1200.  The  building  is  held  by  Trustees  for  the 
congregation,  and  is  only  used  for  Divine  service  and  religious  instruc- 
tion. Total  sittings,  310.  The  Episcopalians  in  the  town  and  neigh- 
bourhood are  estimated  at  nearly  2000,  all,  with  the  exception  of  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  families,  of  the  poor  and  working  classes.  The  clear 
stipend  of  the  minister  in  1838  was  stated  to  be  L.56,  without  house  or 
glebe,  or  any  provision  in  lieu.  Public  worship  is  performed  three 
times  every  Sunday,  twice  on  Christmas  Day,  and  once  on  New  Year's 
Day,  Ash-Wednesday,  and  Good  Friday.  The  minister  states,  that 
"  he  gives  instruction  regularly  in  a  Sunday  school,  and  to  the  children 
and  young  people  of  his  charge  on  Thursday  evenings.  He  has  attempted 
to  establish  missions  in  Johnstone  and  Barrhead,  but  failed  for  want  of 
funds.  He  does  not  extend  his  exertions  as  a  minister  beyond  his  own 
congregation,  except  when  an  English  or  Irish  Regiment  is  stationed 
in  Paisley  Barracks,  in  which  case  he  acts  as  chaplain.* 

Greenock. — The  congregation  in  this  important  sea-port  was  formed 
in  1824,  when  the  present  elegant  Gothic  chapel  was  erected,  which  is 
vested  in  Trustees,  consecrated,  and  applied  solely  for  the  celebration  of 
Divine  service.  Total  number  of  sittings,  400.  The  stipend  is  L.125, 
permanently  secured  by  the  constitution  of  the  chapel,  which  makes  it 
a  preferable  claim  to  debts,  &c.  Public  worship  is  performed  twice  on 
Sundays,  and  on  the  Festivals  of  the  Church.  A  Sunday  and  day 
school  is  connected  with  the  congregation,  and  the  teacher's  salary  is 
defrayed  by  subscription.! 

Helensburgh. — This  congregation  was  formed  after  1838. 

Ayr. — The  congregation  was  established  in  1832,  and  now  assembles 
in  a  neat  chapel  erected  in  1837  by  subscription,  appropriated  solely 
for  the  celebration  of  Divine  service.  The  seat-rents  are  applied  to 
the  support  of  the  minister,  whose  emoluments  are  estimated  at  about 
L.100.  There  are  two  services  on  Sundays,  Christmas,  and  Good 
Friday,  but  on  the  first  Sunday  of  each  month,  when  the  minister  goes 
to  Maybole,  there  is  only  one  service  in  the  chapel,  j     In  the  Report  of 

*   Evidence  of  the  Rev.  W.  M.  Wade,  and  of  Mr  Samuel  Southwell. 
f  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  Richard  Martin,  A.B.,  and  of  Mr  Roger  Aytoun,  Chair- 
man of  the  Trustees. 

J   Evidence  of  the  Rev.  W.  S.  Wilson,  M.A. 


APPENDIX.  505 

the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge  for  1837  is  the  follow- 
ing account  of  the  formation  of  the  congregation  at  Ayr  : — "  The 
Board  took  into  their  consideration  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  W.  S.  Wil- 
son of  Ayr,  respecting  the  Episcopal  congregation  recently  formed  in 
that  place  under  his  pastoral  charge.  He  stated  that  some  families  and 
individuals,  residing  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Ayr,  had  in  1832  procur- 
ed the  use  of  a  small  chapel,  and  with  the  sanction  of  Bishop  Walker 
formed  themselves  into  a  congregation  in  communion  with  the  Episco- 
pal Church  of  Scotland.  Since  that  time,  the  congregation  having 
greatly  increased,  a  suitable  building  was  required  in  lieu  of  the  chapel, 
which  then  was  the  upper  floor  of  a  building  originally  designed  for  a 
granary.  The  number  of  Episcopalians  in  Ayr  and  the  immediate  vi- 
cinity exceeds  400  souls,  and  there  are  many  others  in  the  towns  and 
villages  around  whom  Mr  Wilson  periodically  visits  as  their  minister. 
The  great  majority  of  the  congregation  are  poor  Irish,  unable  to  con- 
tribute much  towards  this  object,  but  anxious  to  do  what  they  can. 
The  sum  required  would  probably  be  about  L.700.  Bishop  Walker, 
who  had  himself  made  a  donation  towards  this  object,  recommended 
Mr  Wilson's  application,  and  said  that  if  a  new  and  suitable  chapel 
could^  be  obtained,  the  congregation  would  no  doubt  be  respectable  ; 
that  many  persons  came  over  from  Maybole,  a  distance  of  nine  miles 
from  Ayr ;  and  that  Mr  Wilson  periodically  visits  the  people  at  May- 
bole,  who  pay  with  gratitude  the  expense  of  his  journeys  to  see  them. 
The  Board  granted  L.100  towards  the  erection  of  a  chapel." 

Maybole. — The  Episcopal  clergyman  at  Ayr  goes  to  Maybole  once 
a  month,  for  the  purpose  of  performing  Divine  service  to  the  members  of 
the  Church  resident  in  that  neighbourhood.  It  is  stated  that  "  the 
preaching  in  this  parish  is  a  mere  temporary  arrangement  until  some- 
thing farther  can  be  done  to  afford  the  means  of  public  worship  to  the 
Episcopalians  here."* 

Annan. — This  congregation  was  formed  since  1838. 

Dumfries.— The  congregation  appears  to  have  been  established  in 
this  town  in  1702,  and  assembles  in  a  chapel  erected  in  1817  at  the 
cost  of  L.2200,  the  property  of  the  congregation,  and  solely  used  for  the 
celebration  of  Divine  Bervice.     Total  sittings.  300.     The  members  are, 

•   Evidence  of  the  K«-v.  W.  s.  Wilton,  M.  A. 


506  APPENDIX. 

with  few  exceptions,  of  the  upper  classes,  and  extend  over  the  county 
of  Dumfries  and  Galloway.  The  stipend  averages  L.250  per  annum, 
but  is  variable,  and  is  derived  from  seat-rents,  collections,  offertories, 
fees  paid  at  the  celebration  of  baptisms  and  marriages,  and  at  funerals, 
and  the  interest  of  L.300  bequeathed  as  a  legacy  to  the  chapel.  Public 
worship  is  performed  twice  every  Sunday,  and  on  week  days,  during 
the  Festivals  of  Christmas  and  Easter,  &c* 

Kelso. — The  congregation  in  this  town  is  supposed  to  have  existed 
since  1689,  and  was  regularly  formed  in  1757.  The  chapel,  which  was 
built  by  subscription  in  1763,  with  a  vestry  and  small  burying-ground, 
is  the  property  of  the  congregation,  and  is  used  solely  as  a  place  of  wor- 
ship. Total  number  of  sittings,  218.  Few  or  none  of  the  attenders 
and  communicants  belong  to  the  poor  and  working  classes,  and  some 
members  reside  in  the  adjoining  parishes  of  Ednam,  Roxburgh,  Nen- 
thorn,  and  Eckford.  The  emoluments  of  the  minister  are  fluctuating, 
and  depend  on  the  amount  of  the  funds.  Public  worship  is  performed 
twice  every  Sunday,  and  on  the  Fasts  and  Festivals  of  the  Church.t 

Peebles. — This  congregation  is  not  reported  by  the  Commissioners. 
In  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Know- 
ledge for  1837  it  is  stated — "  James  Burnett,  Esq.  of  Barns,  near 
Peebles,  forwarded  a  petition  for  and  from  the  Society,  in  behalf  of  St 
Peter's  Episcopal  chapel  in  Peebles.  The  petition,  signed  by  Mr  Bur- 
nett, by  appointment  of  the  managers  of  the  fund  for  the  erection  of  this 
chapel,  stated  that  such  a  building  was  greatly  needed,  the  Episcopal 
chapel  which  is  nearest  to  it  being  more  than  twenty  miles  distant,  and 
the  want  of  accommodation  being  daily  more  felt.  The  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  Walker  having  informed  the  Society  that  the  institution  of  the 
chapel  owed  much  to  the  exertions  of  Mr  Burnett,  and  merited  favour- 
able attention,  it  was  agreed  to  grant  L.50." 

VI.— DIOCESE  OF  EDINBURGH. 

1. — St  Paul's  Chapel,  York  Place. — This  congregation,  which  was 
founded  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  removed  from  the 

•  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  C.  M.  Babington,  M.A. 
t  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  William  Kell,  B.D. 


APPENDIX.  507 

4 

Cowgate  Chapel  to  the  present  edi'ioe  in  1818,  which  is  devoted  ex- 
clusively to  the  celebration  of  Divine  service.  The  erection  cost 
L.13,533,  chiefly  raised  by  subscription.  Number  of  sittings,  1012. 
This  congregation  is  composed  of  families  residing  indiscriminately  in  all 
the  parishes  in  Edinburgh.  The  revenues  of  the  chapel  are  applied  to  the 
payment  of  salaries,  including  those  of  the  two  ministers,  interest  on  debt, 
repairs,  charities,  and  other  charges.  The  ordinary  collections  are  applied 
in  part  to  the  general  purposes  of  the  chapel,  and  part  is  given  in  charity. 
A  small  sum  is  entrusted  to  the  ministers  for  that  purpose,  which  they 
may  dispose  of  as  they  think  right,  without  being  limited  to  members 
of  the  congregation  ;  besides  this,  a  few  pensions  are  given  by  the 
Trustees.  Public  worship  is  performed  by  the  ministers  in  the  chapel 
about  133  times  in  the  course  of  the  year,  including  the  Fasts,  Festivals, 
and  Holidays  of  the  Church.  The  ministers  are  able  to  extend  their 
week-day  ministrations  to  the  whole  of  their  congregation.  The  children 
are  catechized  every  Sunday  after  the  morning  service,  and  instructed 
in  the  elements  of  religious  knowledge.* 

2.  St  George's  Chapel,  York  Place. — This  edifice  was  erected  in 
1794  at  the  cost  of  L.3000,  and  belongs  to  a  body  of  shareholders  who 
subscribed  L  25  each  ;  and  the  remainder  of  the  sum  necessary  for  the 
erection  was  borrowed  by  twelve  gentlemen  who  act  as  the  Vestry,  and 
manage  the  affairs  of  the  chapel.  Total  number  of  sittings,  642.  No 
accurate  information  was  obtained  in  regard  to  the  average  attendance 
at  each  celebration  of  public  worship,  or  the  total  number  of  persons  in 
the  habit  of  attending  the  Chapel.  Many  of  tho  unlet  sittings  are  gene- 
rally occupied.  Many  persons  belonging  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  resi- 
dent in  Edinburgh  for  longer  or  shorter  periods,  will  not  incur  the  ex- 
pense of  taking  sittings  in  a  chapel,  and  some  of  them  resort  to  St 
George's.  Out  of  the  ordinary  collections  relief  is  afforded  to  deserving 
applicant*,  whether  belonging  to  the  congregation  or  not,  given  in  an- 
nuities Some  of  the  annuitant*  are  paupers,  and  may  derive  aid  from 
parochial  funds.  It  is  stated  in  the  Appendix  to  tho  First  Report  bj 
the  Commissioners,  that  the  emoluments  of  the  clergyman  are  from 
L.280  to  L.290,  of  whi.-h  L.250  was  the  salary  then  afforded  by  the 
funds  of  the  Chapel.     The  remainder  consists  of  surplioe  fees,  which 

*    Kvidcnce  of  the  Right   ReT.   DrTorrot,  Rov.  .John  Sinclair,  M.  A.,  tad  Mr  Wil- 
liam Marshall,  Treasurer. 


508  APPENDIX. 

vary  much  in  amount.  Public  worship  is  celebrated  twice  every  Sun- 
day, twice  on  the  chief  Festivals  of  the  Church,  twice  a-week  during 
Lent,  and  once  on  certain  Saints'  Days.* 

3.  St  John's  Chapel,  Prince's  Street. — This  edifice  was  built  in 
1817,  and  was  occupied  by  the  congregation  of  Charlotte  Chapel.  The 
cost  of  the  building  was  L.  16,013,  including  the  organ,  communion 
plate,  and  L.512  expended  in  repairing  damage  caused  by  a  storm. 
The  Chapel  was  built  under  an  arrangement  with  the  Magistrates  of 
Edinburgh  and  the  proprietors  of  Prince's  Street,  and,  being  in  a  con- 
spicuous situation,  was  made  more  ornamental,  and  consequently  more 
expensive  than  would  have  been  deemed  requisite  under  other  circum- 
stances. The  funds  were  raised  by  subscriptions  and  donations,  and 
some  of  the  former  were  afterwards  converted  into  donations.  It  is  now 
held  in  257  shares  of  L.20  each,  making  L.5140,  upon  which  is  paid 
an  yearly  dividend  of  three  per  cent.  Total  number  of  sittings,  821  ; 
connected  with  the  congregation,  about  900  ;  and  probably  one-fifth  of 
the  communicants  are  of  the  poor  or  working  classes.  A  clear  sum  of 
L.1266,  after  payment  of  incumbrances  and  expenses,  has  been  derived 
from  the  sale  of  the  burying-ground  purchased  from  the  Town  of  Edin- 
burgh by  certain  members  of  the  Vestry,  and  in  1829  conveyed  to  the 
proprietors  of  the  Chapel.  This  sum  has  been  applied  to  the  reduction 
of  the  debt,  which  at  Martinmas  1835  was  L.6596,  but  in  the  subse- 
quent four  years  reduced  to  L.1561.  The^annual  stipend  of  the  mini- 
ster is  L.550,  out  of  which  he  pays  his  assistant.  It  arises  from  seat- 
rents  and  collections.  Public  worship  is  performed  twice  every  Sun- 
day, and  on  the  Fasts  and  Festivals  of  the  Church. t 

4.  Trinity  Chapel,  Dean  Bridge. — This  Chapel  was  not  erected, 
and  the  congregation  was  not  formed,  when  the  Commissioners  returned 
their  Reports.  The  edifice,  a  beautiful  Gothic  design  by  John  Hender- 
son, Esq.  Architect,  Edinburgh,  contains  sittings  for  about  800  persons, 

5.  St  James'  Chapel. — This  Chapel,  in  Broughton  Place,  was  erected 
in  1821,  when  the  congregation  was  formed.  The  expense  of  the  build- 
ing was  about  L.4000,  raised  by  voluntary  contributions.  It  is  the  pro- 
perty of  the  congregation,   and  is  not  applied  to  any  other  purposes. 

*  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  R.  Q.  Shannon,    B.  A.,    and  James  Stewart,   Esq.  W.S., 
Treasurer, 
f  Evidence  of  the  Very  Rev.  E.  B.  Ramsay,  M.A,  and  of  Mr  Rollo,  Treasurer. 


APPENDIX.  509 

Total  sittings,  850.  The  seat-rents  are  applied  to  the  general  expenses 
of  the  congregation,  and  the  ordinary  collections  are  given  partly  to  the 
poor.  The  stipend  is  L.500,  and  occasional  fees.  Public  worship  is 
performed  twice  every  Sunday,  and  on  the  usual  Fasts  and  Festivals  of 
the  Church,  and  catechetical  instruction  is  given  on  Saturdays  and 
Sundays.* 

St  Paul's  Chapel,  Carrubber's  Close. — This  congregation  is  gene- 
rally supposed  to  have  been  first  formed  at  the  Revolution,  and  assem- 
bles in  an  edifice  fitted  up  at  the  time  which  was  originally  a  wareroom. 
The  upper  floor  is  said  to  have  been  occupied  by  one  of  the  ejected 
Bishops,  and  was  purchased  by  the  congregation  in  1741.  The  other 
portions  of  the  building  were  acquired  in  1786,  and  converted  to  its 
present  form  and  use.  The  Trustees  in  whom  it  was  vested  conveved  it 
in  1820  to  the  Trustees  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Fund,  who  have  since 
been  recognized  as  the  proprietors.  The  congregation  has  a  constitution 
approved  by  the  Trustees  of  that  Fund,  acknowledging  the  right  to  oc- 
cupy the  chapel  during  pleasure  at  a  moderate  rent,  which  is  not  ex- 
acted. The  seat-rents  are  applied  to  the  payment  of  the  minister's 
stipend,  and  of  the  salaries  of  the  organist,  clerk,  and  beadle,  with  the 
expense  of  repairs  and  insurance.  Number  of  sittings,  360.  The  sa- 
lary of  the  clergyman  is  variable,  and  is  not  secured  in  any  way.  Pub- 
lic worship  is  performed  twice  every  Sunday,  and  on  Ash-Wednesday, 
Good  Friday,  and  other  days  appointed  to  be  observed.! 

St  Peter's  Chapel,  Roxburgh  Place. — This  Chapel  consists  of  the 
first  and  second  storeys  of  a  house,  and  was  originally  constructed  at  the 
expense  of  a  clergyman,  who  soon  after  let  it  at  a  rent  of  L.105.  In 
1806  it  was  sold  by  him  to  a  private  individual,  who,  after  many  addi- 
tions, divided  the  price,  L.1575,  into  fifteen  shares  of  L.105  each,  only 
six  of  which  were  sold,  and  the  other  nine  remain  with  the  proprietor. 
No  lease  of  the  Chapel  is  guaranteed  to  the  congregation,  whose  ri^htto 
occupy  it  is  not  permanent ;  but  by  deed  it  is  set  apart  exclusively  for 
the  Episcopal  Church,  and  it  is  provided  that  the  congregation  must  be 
in  communion  with  the  Church,  and  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Bislmp 

•  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  Daniel  Bagot,  B.D.,  and  of  Mr  Smith  Ferguson,  Trea- 
surer. 

t  Evidence  of  tin;  Rev  !>.  T.  K.  Drummond,  B.  A  ,  and  of  Mr  Alexander  Brace, 
Assistant  Treasurer. 


510  APPENDIX. 

of  the  Diocese.  Very  few  poor  attend  the  Chapel,  the  communicants 
being  chiefly  of  the  richer  class.  Number  of  sittings,  420.  The  re- 
venues are  applied  to  defray  the  minister's  stipend,  communion  ele- 
ments, and  other  expenses,  and  towards  defraying  the  debts  of  the 
Chapel  (L.246),  and  on  the  fifteen  shares  into  which  the  price  is  divided. 
Part  of  the  revenue  is  applied  to  public  charities  beyond  the  bounds 
of  the  congregation.  It  appears  from  Mr  Skinner's  Return,  that  in  the 
year  1834-5  the  minister  had  received,  under  the  head  stipend,  L.78, 
15s.,  and  had  in  addition  drawn  the  whole  amount  of  the  collections 
and  offertories  for  the  same  year.  The  clergyman  performs  Divine  ser- 
vice twice  every  Sunday,  and  on  the  Festivals  and  other  days  held  sacred 
by  the  Church.  He  instructs  the  younger  part  of  his  congregation 
between  services  on  Sundays.* 

Portobello. — The  congregation  was  first  formed  in  this  place  in 
1825,  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Langhorne  of  Musselburgh,  who  erected  St 
John's  Chapel  in  Brighton  Street.  When  this  Chapel,  which  was  duly 
consecrated  by  Bishop  Sandford  in  1826,  was  nearly  completed,  St 
Mark's  Chapel  was  begun  by  an  individual  resident  in  Portobello,  and 
though  the  congregation  now  assembles  in  it,  the  Chapel  is  private  pro- 
perty, and  as  such  a  rent  is  annually  paid.  Total  sittings,  440.  The 
stipend,  as  stated  in  the  Appendix  to  the  First  Report  of  the  Commis- 
sioners printed  in  1837,  was  then  L.80,  fixed  for  a  time,  and  secured  by 
the  lessees.  The  seat- rents,  offertories,  and  ordinary  collections,  are  ap- 
plied to  the  payment  of  the  minister,  of  interest,  and  other  expenses. 
Divine  service  is  performed  twice  every  Sunday,  and  on  the  Fasts  and 
Festivals  of  the  Church.t  The  cemetery  surrounding  St  Mark's  Cha- 
pel was  the  cause  of  an  action  in  the  Scottish  Supreme  Court  in  Janu- 
ary 1832,  when  it  was  decided  that  a  body  of  Dissenters  cannot  be  pre- 
vented by  the  Kirk- Session  or  Heritors  of  the  parish  from  establishing 
a  place  of  sepulture  of  their  own.  The  case  is  thus  reported  as  it  was 
brought  before  the  Court : — "  Colonel  Hallyburton  and  certain  other 
individuals,  having  taken  a  feu  in  the  village  of  Portobello,  which  is 
situated  in  the  parish  of  Duddingston,  and  erected  thereon  a  chapel  in 
connection  with  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Communion,  proposed  to  con- 
vert the  ground  surrounding  it  into  a  cemetery  for  the  use  of  the  congre- 

*  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Ferguson,  M.A.,  and  of  J.  R.  Skinner,  Esq.  W.S. 
f  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  G.  M.  Drummond,  B.A. 


APPENDIX.  511 

gation,  and  those  persons  who  might  acquire  burying  places  within  it, 
and  with  this  view  they  had  it  duly  consecrated  according  to  the  ritual 
of  the  Episcopal  Church.     An  attempt  was  immediately  made  by  a 
neighbour  to  interdict  them,  on  the  ground  that  the  churchyard  would 
constitute  a  nuisance,  and  pending  proceedings  which  ensued,  the  Kirk- 
Session  of  the  parish  for  themselves,  and  taking  burden  on  them  for  the 
Heritors,  raised  an  action  against  Hallyburton  and  others,  concluding 
to  have  it  declared  that  they,  or  the  Heritors,  had  the  exclusive  right  of 
managing  the  parish  churchyard  and  letting  out  mortcloths  to  hire,  and 
that  no  other  parties  were  entitled  to  establish  within  the  parish  a  place  of 
common  sepulture,  and  to  have  Hallyburton  and  others  interdicted  from 
keeping  up  their  cemetery.     In  support  of  this  action  they  maintained 
that  the  Heritors,  who  were  bound  to  provide  sufficient  burying  ground 
for  the  parish,  or  the  Kirk- Session  acting  for  them,  had  the  exclusive 
privilege  of  keeping  up  a  place  of  common  sepulture  for  the  parish,  and 
of  making  profit  by  disposing  of  and  selling  parts  thereof  to  individuals  ; 
and  that  the  Kirk- Session  had  also  the  exclusive  right  of  levying  mort- 
cloth  and  other  funeral  dues,  the  collection  of  which  would  be  mate- 
rially impeded  if  parties  were  allowed  to  bury  elsewhere  than  in  the 
proper  churchyard.     In  defence  it  was  pleaded,  that  as  the  defenders 
had  never  interfered  with  the  management  of  the  proper  churchyard, 
or  the  right  to  let  out  mortcloths,  the  conclusions  as  to  these  matters 
were  improperly  directed  against  them ; — that  as  to  the  other  conclusions, 
there  was  no  authority  whatever  for  maintaining  an  exclusive  right  on 
the  part  of  the  Heritors  or  Kirk-Session  to  keep  up  a  place  of  sepulture  ; 
— that  any  dues  for  the  use  of  mortcloths  would  be  equally  well  levied,  if 
the  Kirk- Session  were  entitled  to  them,  whether  the  interment  took 
place  in  the  churchyard,  or  another  burying  place  ; — that  all  the  other 
dues  were  for  services  performed,  and  went  to  the  persons  who  perform- 
ed  them,  and  not  to  the  poor  or  to  the  Session  ;  and  that  it  was  contrary 
to  law  to  make  a  profit  by  selling  to  private  individuals  parts  of  the 
churchyard,  which  (except  the  Heritors'  private  burying-grounds)  was 
appropriated  to  the  common  use  of  the  inhabitants  ;  but  that  at  any 
rato  the  Kirk- Session  or  Heritors  could  never  prevent  the  establish- 
ment of  other  places  of  sepulture  in  order  to  increase  their  dues  or 
profits  ;  and  further,  that  the  burial  of  the  dead  in  consecrated  ground 


512  APPENDIX. 

being  in  the  view  of  the  Episcopal  Church  part  of  their  religious  ri- 
tual, it  was  contrary  to  the  Toleration  Act  to  interfere  with  it,  so  as  to 
compel  the  members  of  that  Communion  to  bury  their  dead  in  uncon- 
secrated  ground.  The  Lord  Ordinary  [Lord  Mackenzie]  sustained  the 
defences,  and  assoilzied.  The  Kirk-Session  reclaimed,  but  the  Court, 
without  calling  on  the  defenders'  counsel  to  answer,  adhered."* 

Musselburgh. — The  congregation  in  this  town,  in  the  parish  of  In- 
veresk,  has  existed  since  1688,  and  assembles  in  a  chapel  erected  about 
1800  at  the  cost  of  L.600,  raised  by  private  donations.  It  belongs  to 
the  congregation,  and  is  applied  to  no  other  than  religious  purposes. 
Total  sittings,  200.  The  minister's  stipend  is  about  L.80,  but  variable, 
and  derived  from  the  seat-rents,  which,  with  the  collections,  are  applied 
to  defray  the  necessary  expenses  of  the  congregation.  Public  worship 
is  performed  twice  every  Sunday,  and  on  the  usual  Fasts  and  Festi- 
vals.! 

Haddington. — The  Episcopal  congregation  in  this  town  is  supposed 
to  have  existed  since  the  Reformation.  The  chapel  was  built  about 
1770  on  ground  which  was  a  gift  from  the  Earl  of  Wemyss,  is  vested 
in  Trustees,  and  is  applied  solely  to  the  celebration  of  Divine  service. 
Total  number  of  sittings,  279.  The  congregation  consists  chiefly  of 
the  higher  classes  in  the  county,  and  the  average  attendance  varies 
greatly,  being  dependent  upon  their  residence  or  non-residence.  The 
number  in  the  habit  of  attending  cannot  be  stated,  as  some  of  the  con- 
gregation are  not  always  in  the  county,  and  some  attend  only  at  the 
Festivals  of  the  Church.  The  stipend  is  L.110,  with  a  house  and  gar- 
den worth  L.25  per  annum.  Public  worship  is  performed  twice  every 
Sunday,  and  on  Festivals.! 

Stirling. — The  congregation  has  existed  since  the  establishment  of 
Presbyterianism.  The  chapel  belongs  to  the  congregation,  being  held 
by  Trustees,  and  is  used  only  for  religious  purposes.  It  was  erected 
about  1797,  and  cost  nearly  L.600.  Total  number  of  sittings,  200. 
Minister's  stipend,  about  L.150.  Public  worship  is  performed  every 
Sunday,  besides  on  Fasts  and  Festivals.      The  minister  officiates  as 

*  Cases  decided  in  the  Court  of  Session,  vol.  x.  p.  196,  197- 
t  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Langhorne. 
X  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  James  Traill,  M.A. 


APPENDIX.  513 

chaplain  to  the  troops  in  Stirling  Castle.*     In  1842,  the  erection  of  a 
new  and  more  commodious  chapel  was  projected. 

Alloa. — The  place  of  worship  was  closed  for  about  fifteen  years,  and 
re-opened  in  June  1837.  It  contained  80  sittings,  and  was  the  property 
of  the  congregation.  Since  1837,  the  present  neat  Gothic  edifice  was 
erected.  It  is  applied  solely  to  religious  purposes.  The  minister's  sti- 
pend is  L.80.  Public  worship  is  performed  twice  every  Sunday,  and 
also  on  Festivals  days  observed  by  the  Church. t 

The  Commissioners  state  respecting  Edinburgh — "  In  computing 
the  rates  [or  seat-rents]  of  the  Dissenters,  we  necessarily  leave  out  some 
sects  which  do  not  admit  of  seat-rents,  whose  sittings,  however,  amount 
to  upwards  of  4000  ;  and  we  have  distinguished  from  the  others  the 
Episcopalians,  who,  being  generally  of  the  wealthier  classes,  differ  ma- 
terially in  that  respect  from  the  Dissenters."  The  neglect  of  public 
worship  in  the  Scottish  metropolis  is  thus  described  : — "  If  we  were  to 
assume,  and  the  assumption  does  not  seem  unreasonable,  that  the  num- 
ber of  persons  in  the  habit  of  attending  in  those  churches  of  the  Estab- 
lishment where  the  number  has  not  been  given,  exceeds  the  average  at- 
tendance in  the  same  proportion  as  in  those  churches  of  the  Establish- 
ment where  both  numbers  have  been  returned  ;  and  to  follow  the  same 
rule  in  regard  to  the  Dissenting  congregations,  excluding  the  Episcopa- 
lians and  Roman  Catholics,  the  number  in  the  habit  of  attending  would 
in  the  one  case  amount  to  about  35,877,  and  in  the  other  to  about 
31,675.  By  applying  the  same  calculation  to  the  Episcopal  congrega- 
tions, the  number  of  persons  in  the  habit  of  attending  therein  would 
amount  to  about  3703  ;  and  adding  the  number  of  3000  in  the  habit 
of  attending  the  Roman  Catholic  chapels,  450  at  the  Unitarian  chapel, 
and  90  for  the  Hebrews,  there  would  appear  to  be  about  74,795  persons 
in  tho  habit  of  attending  public  worship  out  of  a  population  in  Edin- 
burgh and  Leith  of  162,292.  It  would  appear,  therefore,  as  was  in- 
deed universally  admitted  in  the  Evidence,  that  there  is  a  large  number 
of  persons  capable  of  attending,  who  habitually  absent  themselves  from 
public  worship.  The  number  cannot  be  less  than  from  40,000  to  50,000, 
according  to  the  age  at  which  children  may  be  supposed  capable  of  at- 
tending church.     It  need  scarcely  be  remarked,  thai  all  these  persons 

*  Evidenoe  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Henderson,  M.A. 
■f  Evidence  of  the  Rev.  John  Hunter. 

2x 


514  APPENDIX. 

are  not  chargeable  with  the  same  degree  of  neglect  of  public  worship, 
as  a  part  of  them  may  attend  occasionally.  This  neglect  of  public  wor- 
ship appears  by  the  Evidence  to  be  almost  entirely  confined  to  the  poorer 
classes,  and  chiefly  to  the  very  lowest.  Various  causes  are  assigned  for  its 
prevalence  ;  but  the  principal  reason,  and  that  of  which  all  parties  con- 
cur in  admitting  the  force,  is  the  indifference  of  the  people  themselves. 
This  appears  to  spring  from  various  causes.  Some  are  in  extreme  po- 
verty, so  occupied  in  obtaining  the  means  of  subsistence,  and  so  ab- 
sorbed in  their  own  sufferings,  that  they  have  no  thoughts  to  bestow  on 
other  subjects. — A  large  portion,  again,  are  sunk  in  habits  of  debauchery, 
which  render  them  quite  insensible  to  every  feeling  either  of  religion  or 
morality." 

In  reference  to  Glasgow,  the  Commissioners  observe : — "  We  cannot 
make  any  precise  statement  of  the  number  of  persons  within  the  unit- 
ed district  who  may  be  considered  to  be  in  the  habit  of  attending  pub- 
lic worship.  The  tables  which  we  have  exhibited  would  show  the  num- 
ber to  be  about  81,013,  but  as  in  the  majority  of  cases  we  have  stated 
the  number  of  persons  in  the  habit  of  attending  no  higher  than  the  ave- 
rage of  attendance,  that  number  is  probably  considerably  under  the  ac- 
tual amount.  If  we  were  to  assume,  and  the  assumption  does  not  seem 
unreasonable,  that  the  number  of  persons  in  the  habit  of  attending  in 
those  churches  of  the  Establishment,  where  the  number  has  not  been 
given,  exceeds  the  average  attendance  in  the  same  proportion,  as  those 
churches  of  the  Establishment  where  both  numbers  have  been  returned  ; 
and  to  follow  the  same  rule  in  regard  to  the  Dissenting  congregations, 
excluding  the  Episcopalians  and  Roman  Catholics,  the  number  in  the 
habit  of  attending  would,  in  the  one  case,  amount  to  about  33,569,  and 
in  the  other  to  about  38,547  ;  and  adding  the  number  1500  in  the  ha- 
bit of  attending  at  the  Episcopal  chapels,  12,500  for  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics (although  a  proportion  of  these  must  reside  beyond  the  united  dis- 
tricts), 23  for  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  40  for  the  Hebrews,  there 
would  appear  to  be  about  86,179  persons  in  the  habit  of  attending,  out 
of  a  population  of  213,810."  This  is  the  census  of  1831.  "  With  re- 
gard to  the  causes  of  this  neglect  of  public  worship,  we  deem  it  suffi- 
cient, on  the  present  occasion,  to  state  that  the  views  upon  this  subject 
which  were  laid  before  us  coincidedjgenerally  with  the  evidence  upon 
the  same  point  which  we  received  in  Edinburgh." 


APPENDIX.  515 


No.  II. 

STATE  OF  THE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  IN  1708. 

In  the  Library  of  the  Faculty  of  Advocates  at  Edinburgh  is  preserved 
a  MS.  list,  entitled,  "  An  Account  of  the  Names  of  the  Ministers  and 
Parishes  within  the  several  Synods  and  Presbyteries  of  Scotland  at  and 
since  the  late  Revolution  1689,  who  have  either  been  deprived  by  the 
State,  or  deposed  by  the  [Presbyterian]  Church,  or  voluntarily  deserted, 
or  turned  out  by  the  people,  or  yet  continue  to  preach  in  their  churches. 
The  names  marked  X  are  Episcopal,  the  rest  are  Presbyterian."  It  is 
already  stated  that  during  the  Establishment  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
before  the  Revolution  the  Dioceses  comprised  the  Provincial  Synods  and 
Presbyteries  as  at  present,  with  the  exception  of  those  Presbyteries 
which  have  since  been  erected.  The  number  of  Provincial  Synods  was 
then  fourteen. 

The  MS.  now  quoted  appears  to  have  been  written  about  1708.  It 
commences  with  the  Synod  of  Merse  and  Teviotdale,  and  the  following 
Episcopal  clergy  contrived  to  preach  in  their  [parish]  churches  by  the 
connivance  of  the  Government  up  to  1707  : 

1.  Synod  of  Merse  and  Teviotdale — Presbyterian   ministers,   61  ; 

Episcopal  clergy,  3  ;  vacant  parishes,  7. 

2.  Synod  of  Lothian  and  Tweeddale — Presbyterian  ministers,  105  ; 

Episcopal,  3  ;  vacant,  9. 

3.  Synod  of  Dumfries — Presbyterian  ministers,  52  ;   Episcopal,  0  ; 

vacant,  1. 
1.   Synod  of  Galloway — Presbyterian  ministers,   34;   Episcopal,  0  ; 
vacant,  1. 

5.  Synod  of  Glasgow  and  Ayr — Presbyterian  ministers,  115;  Epis- 

copal, 0  ;  vacant,  11. 

6.  Synod  of  Argyll — Presbyterian  ministers,  41  ;   Episcopal,  3  :  va- 

cant, 5. 

7.  Synod  of  Perth  and  STIRLING  —  Presbyterian  ministers,  63  ;  Epis- 

copal, 12  :  varan t.  .*>. 


510  APPENDIX. 

8.  Synod  of  Fife — Presbyterian  ministers,  64  ;  Episcopal,  4 ;  vacant,  5. 

9.  Synod  of  Angus  and^MEARNS — Presbyterian  ministers;  50  ;  Epis- 

copal, 21  ;  vacant,  14. 

10.  Synod  of  Aberdeen — Presbyterian  ministers,  57  ;  Episcopal,  38  ; 

vacant,  9. 

11.  Synod  of  Moray — Presbyterian  ministers,  26  ;  Episcopal,  19  ;  va- 

cant, 13. 

12.  Synod  of  Ross — Presbyterian  ministers,  8  ;   Episcopal,   14  ;  va- 

cant, 8. 

13.  Synod  of  Caithness — Presbyterian  ministers,  13  ;   Episcopal,  5  ; 

vacant,  3. 

14.  Synod  of  Orkney  and  Zetland — Presbyterian  ministers,  28  ;  Epis- 

copal, 0  ;  vacant,  1. 

The  writer  gives  a  kind  of  double  list.  By  the  preceding  it  appears 
that  112  Episcopal  clergymen  were  in  possession  of  their  parishes,  in  de- 
fiance of  the  Presbyterian  Establishment,  up  to  1707  ;  but  in  the  other 
list  he  makes  the  number  116  ;  and  he  thus  exhibits  the  state  of  the 
parishes  in  Scotland.     In  April  1707,  there  are 

Presbyterian  Ministers,  -  -  719 

"  Intruders"  (Episcopal  clergy),  -  -  116 

"  Intruders"  (Episcopal)  into  vacant  parishes,  -  97 


932 


In  April  1708  there  are  Presbyterian  ministers,         -  720 

Episcopal  clergy,  including  "  intruders,"      -  -  133 

Vacancies,  besides  "  intruders,"       -  -  79 


932 


By  ''intruders"  is,  of  course,  indicated  those  Episcopal  clergy  who 
were  kept  in  possession  of  the  parishes  by  the  attachment  of  the  people, 
and  to  whom  the  authorities  of  the  new  Establishment  were  obliged  to 
allow  possession  for  life. 


APPENDIX.  517 


No.  III. 

CONTEMPORARY  SKETCH  OF  THE  STATE  OF  THE  SCOT- 
TISH EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  FROM  1715  TO  1746— ANEC- 
DOTES— THE  USAGES. 

[The  following  account  of  the  controversy  caused  by  the  "Usages"  is 
from  a  manuscript  volume  in  the  Advocates'  Library,  Edinburgh,  en- 
titled "  Some  short  Memoirs  of  the  Affairs  of  the  Episcopal  Church  of 
Scotland  since  the  Death  of  Queen  Anne  ; "  which  at  one  time  belonged 
to  the  celebrated  Lord  Hailes,  and  has  his  autograph,  David  Dalrymple, 
Hailes,  1786.  Who  the  author  was  is  not  stated,  but  it  appears  suffi- 
ciently evident  that  he  was  a  determined  opponent  of  the  "  Usages," 
and  a  supporter  of  the  "  College  Party."] 

In  the  end  of  Queen  Anne's  reign  the  Episcopals  in  Scotland 
promised  to  themselves  great  things  by  the  change  of  the  Ministry,  in- 
somuch that  a  great  many  meeting-houses  were  set  up  in  town  and 
country,  and  their  enemies  caressed  them  on  all  hands,  by  which  means 
the  ministers  went  in  very  boldly  in  the  prosecution  of  the  several  duties 
of  their  function,  and  none  or  but  very  few  set  themselves  in  opposition 
to  their  proceedings.  And  thus  they  continued  till  the  sudden  death  of 
that  Queen,  and  the  accession  of  King  George  the  First  to  the  throne, 
which  very  much  disappointed  all  their  hopes,  and  put  a  great  damp  on 
their  spirits. 

However,  they  went  on  without  any  prosecution  or  disturbance, 
for  ought  I  remember,  till  the  fatal  year  1715,  when  there  happened  a 
very  great  insurrection  of  the  noblemen,  gentlemen,  and  commons  of 

this  kingdom,  to  assert  the  rights   and  interests  <<t'   K —  J tin- 

Eighth.     In  whirl)  tli(>  Episcopal  <lergy  could  not  be  wanting,  consider- 
ing their  principles,  and  the  many  grievous  hardships  and  sufferh 
tlirv  lav  under  Bince  tin-  Revolution.     And  a  great  many  of  the  Pn 
byterian  teachers,  haying  abandoned  theirchnrches  and  their  respective 
charges,  they  of  the  other  [Episcopal]  persuasion  thought  themselyi 
obliged  (though  perhaps  unadvisedly)  t<.  takepo  u  "t  them  ;  which 


518  APPENDIX. 

upon  the  ruin  of  that  noble  undertaking,  proved  their  ruin  also.  Some 
of  them  had  not  only  prayed  expressly  for  the  King  *  in  the  churches, 
read  all  his  declarations,  and  several  instructions  which  were  given 
them ;  but  addressed  him  formally  by  a  set  speech  in  their  gowns, 
which  was  afterwards  printed,  and  strange  observations  made  upon  it. 
And  though  there  were  but  few  in  comparison  to  the  rest  involved  in 
these  things,  yet  this  drew  a  general  persecution  upon  the  whole  Church, 
so  that  nothing  was  to  be  found  in  several  places  but  driving  the  Epis- 
copal clergy  from  their  meeting-houses. 

Those  who  were  immediately  concerned  thought  it  proper  to  with- 
draw and  hide  themselves  in  some  secure  place,  which  they  did  till  the 
Indemnity  came  out  a  long  time  after.  Yet  some  of  them  being  search- 
ed for  and  taken,  were  led  about  with  a  great  deal  of  contempt,  till  they 
were  lodged  in  my  Lord  Winton's  house t  in  the  Canongate,  which  was 
then  made  a  prison,  and  there  they  remained  till  they  either  made  their 
escape,  or  were  relieved  some  other  way. 

The  ministers  of  Edinburgh  were  then  taken  notice  of,  and  being 
summoned  before  the  Lords  of  Justiciary,  were  fined  L.20  sterling, 
which  obliged  them  to  take  shelter  in  the  Abbey,  J  and  employ  others  to 
officiate  in  their  several  meeting-houses  for  a  considerable  time  after. 

The  storm  fell  upon  other  parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  so  the  Earl  of 
Moray  §  having  qualified  to  the  Government  for  reasons  best  known  to 
himself,  not  being  any  way  engaged  in  the  late  insurrection,  his  chap- 
lain must  either  pray  nominatim  [for  George  I.]  or  leave  that  family, 
the  latter  of  which  he  rather  chose  readily  to  do. 

The  minister  of  Fortrose  in  the  county  of  Ross  had  laid  aside  the  ex- 
ercise of  his  function,  having  so  many  enemies  round  about  him,  who 
constantly  threatened  to  harass  or  imprison  him.  He  that  continued 
to  officiate  in  a  neighbouring  congregation,  about  a  mile  from  that  town, 


*  The  author,  who  was  a  zealous  adherent  of  the  exiled  Family,  means  the  Cheva- 
lier St  George,  whom  the  Jacobites  always  mentioned  as  "  King." 

f  This  mansion,  which  is  now  removed,  stood  on  the  north  side  of  the  Canongate, 
nearly  opposite  Queensberry  House.  George  fifth  Earl  of  Winton  was  attainted  in 
1716,  for  being  concerned  in  the  Enterprise  of  1715. 

J  The  Abbey  or  Sanctuary  of  the  Palace  of  Holyrood  is  here  indicated. 

§  This  Nobleman  was  Charles  fifth  Earl  of  Moray,  who  succeeded  in  1700,  and 
died  in  1735. 


APPENDIX.  519 

was  one  morning  taken  out  of  his  bed,  and  carried  to  the  prison  of  Ding- 
wall, where  he  remained  three  months  not  in  a  fire  room,  so  that  had 
the  day  been  never  so  cold  or  rainy  he  could  not  have  the  convenience 
of  a  fire.  And  even  after,  when  he  was  set  at  liberty  by  the  soldier  who 
had  some  compassion  on  him,  he  was  arraigned  before  my  Lord  Justice- 
Clerk,*  then  on  his  northern  circuit,  and  could  not  get  free  without  very 
hard  terms.  That  clergyman  afterwards  perished  going  by  boat  to  some 
part  of  the  Highlands  where  he  was  to  officiate,  which,  though  it  hap- 
pened some  years  after,  I  could  not  omit  here,  in  order  to  finish  his 
story. 

The  two  ministers  were  banished  from  Inverness.  One  of  them,  it 
seems,  was  so  much  regarded  by  his  enemies  that  he  was  watched  whether 
he  would  come  near  the  town,  and  the  other  took  sanctuary  in  a  gentle- 
man's family,  and  after  various  tossings  chose  to  go  and  be  his  chaplain. 

But  the  most  unmanly  as  well  as  barbarous  action  happened  with  re- 
spect to  a  clergyman  in  Elgin  of  Moray  ;  for,  dreading  no  harm,  the 
commanding  officer  there  (I  am  sorry  I  do  not  remember  his  name,  that 
I  might  transmit  him  infamous  to  posterity)  ordered  his  sergeant  to 
cudgel  him,  which  he  did  so  unmercifully,  that  though  he  lived  some 
years  after,  these  blows  stuck  to  him,  and  I  am  persuaded  contributed 
to  his  untimely  death  in  the  very  flower  of  his  age,  which  happened  in 
the  town  of  Linlithgow,  very  much  regretted  by  all  who  knew  him. 

The  end  of  the  year  1717  passed  with  the  prosecution  of  several  of 
the  Aberdeenshire  clergy,  who  were  summoned  before  the  Lords  of  Jus- 
ticiary at  Edinburgh  ;  but  what  was  the  final  issue  of  the  pleadings,  on 
all  hands,  which  were  solemnly  managed  in  the  Parliament  House!  be- 
fore a  vast  crowd,  I  do  not  so  well  remember  The  government  being 
sufficiently  glutted  with  these  prosecutions,  the  Church  had  some  rest 

till  17l!».     Then  K — g  J s  thought  fit  to  make  another  push  for  his 

interest,  so  that  some   uoblemen  and  gentlemen,  and  some  Spanish 

soldiers,  landed  in  the  Highlands,  and  had  not  Providence  been  pleased 
to  disappoint  the  projects  laid  down,  they  might  have  shaken  the  W — g 

•  This  Judge  was  the  1 1  >  > 1 1 .  James  Erskine  of  Grange,  brother  of  the  Karl  of 
Mar,  whose  infamous  oonduol  to  bis  wife  is  previously  noticed- 

f  The  Parliament  House,  Edinburgh,  is  here  Intended,  In  which  tho  Judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Scotland  hear  pleadinj 


520  APPENDIX. 

P r  ;  but  they  being  defeated  at  Glenshiel,  this  put  an  end  to  that 

undertaking  at  that  time, 

This  raised  a  fresh  trouble  upon  the  Church,  so  that  the  ministers  of 
Edinburgh  were  convened  before  the  magistrates  of  that  city,  and  their 
meeting-houses  were  ordered  to  be  shut  up  for  six  months,  which  ac- 
cordingly was  done,  their  doors  being  padlocked  :  and  so  strict  the  ruling 
powers  were,  that  a  minister,  happening  accidentally  to  be  at  Inverness, 
and  thinking  himself  obliged  privately  to  say  prayers  and  preach  in  a 
room,  a  note  was  sent  to  him  that  he  was  in  danger  of  being  appre- 
hended by  the  commanding  officer  there,  so  that  upon  Sunday  night  he 
was  advised  to  leave  his  lodgings  and  retire  to  another. 

Thus  stood  matters  at  the  death  of  Dr  Alexander  Rose,  Bishop  of 
Edinburgh,  the  only  surviving  one  of  those  before  the  Revolution,  which 
opens  a  new  scene  of  troubles  and  difficulties  ;  for  hitherto  the  Church 
was  harassed  by  enemies  from  without,  but  then  began  they  to  breed 
in  her  own  bosom. 

It  will  be  here  necessary  to  trace  some  things  which  were  done  long 
before,  but  could  not  so  conveniently  be  taken  in  till  now. 

The  Bishop  of  Edinburgh's  great  care  was  to  preserve  such  a  succes- 
sion as  might  serve  the  exigencies  of  the  Church,  that  when  it  pleased 
God  to  restore  that  primitive  apostolical  order  to  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land, they  should  not  be  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  any  foreign  Church, 
either  for  the  consecration  of  their  Bishops,  or  for  the  ordination  of 
their  several  ministers,  and  in  the  meantime  to  ordain  all  such  as  should 
offer  themselves,  being  duly  qualified,  for  both  congregations  and  fami- 
lies. And  so  the  Bishops  of  Scotland,  when  there  were  but  few  of  them 
remaining,  consecrated  Mr  Fullarton,  Mr  Sage,  Mr  Falconar,  and  Mr 
Christie,  and  the  two  dying  before  Dr  Rose,  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  to 
wit,  Mr  Sage  and  Mr  Christie,  they  consecrated  Mr  Millar  and  Mr 

Irvine. 

All  this  was  privately  done,  for  Dr  Rose  managing  all  the  affairs  of 

the  Church,  and  applications  from  all  places  being  made  to  him  only, 

^t  was  not  so  necessary  that  these  consecrations,  should  be  publicly 

known. 

But  his  death  happening  the  19th  day  of  March  1720,  it  was  then 
needful  that   the    clergy  of  the  kingdom  should  know   their  several 


APPENDIX. 


521 


Bishops,  to  whom  they  might  apply  in  their  respective  counties.  Ac- 
cordingly, a  few  days  after  the  Presbyters  of  Edinburgh  were  convened, 
and  those  Bishops  who  were  then  in  town  showed  their  several  diplomas 
[or  letters  of  consecration],  but  at  the  same  time  said  they  could  do  no- 
thing with  respect  to  the  choice  of  a  successor  to  the  Bishop  of  Edin- 
burgh, till  Mr  Fullarton,  the  senior  Bishop,  was  come  to  town,  whom 
they  expected  in  a  few  days,  having  dispatched  an  express  to  him,  and 
when  he  came  the  Presbyters  should  be  acquainted,  and  would  be  told 
also  of  all  the  means  necessary  to  be  followed.  So  in  some  little  time, 
when  Mr  Fullarton  had  arrived,  the  presbyters  were  ordered  to  meet  to 
make  choice  of  one  of  the  College  of  Bishops,  as  it  came  then  to  be 
called,  to  be  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  which  they  then  thus  understood, 
whatever  stir  has  been  made  about  that  matter  since. 

All  the  ministers  in  and  about  Edinburgh  did  meet  in  one  of  the 
meeting-houses  there,  which  being  the  largest  meeting  of  them  I  be- 
lieve since  the  Revolution,  I  think  it  not  amiss  here  to  set  down  the 
names  of  the  most  of  them. 


MrWm.  Abercrombie,  Moderator. 

Mr  Andrew  Lumsden,  Clerk. 

Mr  Patrick  Trant,  by  proxy. 

Mr  Andrew  Cant,  by  proxy. 

Mr  James  Henry. 

Mr  Robert  Wright, 

Mr  David  Rankine,  by  proxy. 

Mr  David  Laurie. 

Mr  George  Johnston. 

Mr  Patrick  Middleton. 

Mr  David  Freebairn. 

Mr  James  Walker. 

Mr  I  Inirv  Walker, 

Mr  Alexander  Sutherland,  Minor. 

Mi-  Alexander  Sutherland,  junior. 

Mr  Thomas  Auchinleck. 

Mr  I );i\ i<l  Spence. 

Mr  Robert  Skene. 

Mr  Robert  ( Iheyne. 


Mr  William  Gillan. 
Mr  William  Cockburn. 
Mr  William  Wylie. 
Mr  George  Erskine. 
Mr  Thomas  Carstairs. 
Mr  John  Robertson. 
Mr  Alexander  Mackenzie. 
Mr  Alexander  Campbell. 
Mr  James  Watson. 
Mr  Patrick  Hume. 
Mr  Robert  Keith. 
Mr  Robert  C alder. 
Mr  Daniel  Taylor. 
Mr  .James  Inglis. 
Mr  William  Elphinstone. 
Mr  Gideon  Guthrie. 
Mi-  Alexander  Guthrie. 
Mr  Robert  Bowers. 
Mr  John  Maclauchlan 


522  APPENDIX. 

Mr  Patrick  Littlejohn.  Mr  Adam  Peacock. 

Mr  Daniel  Robertson.  Mr  Patrick  White. 

Mr  Robert  Colt.  Mr  Thomas  Moubray. 

Mr  Henry  Foulis.  Mr  Patrick  Lyon. 

Mr  Duncan  Murchieson.  Mr  Thomas  Wilkie. 

Some  of  the  ministers  met  together  in  a  house  the  night  before  the 
meeting,  where  it  was  moved  that  since  the  Bishops  of  Scotland  were 
pleased  to  appoint  the  presbyters  to  choose  their  Bishop,  it  was  but 
mannerly  to  refer  back  again  the  choice  to  themselves,  and  so  the  most 
part  of  them  were  for  the  reference.  Accordingly,  the  Bishops  pitched 
upon  Mr  Fullarton  for  the  Diocese  of  Edinburgh  as  the  Senior,  which 
he  accepted  as  from  the  College,  as  an  authentic  deed  under  his  and  the 
rest  of  their  hands,  I  am  told  still  extant,  manifests  and  declares. 

The  late  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  Dr  Rose,  taking  the  whole  care  of  the 
Church  upon  himself,  except  in  very  important  matters  where  he  thought 
it  proper  to  consult  with  his  colleagues,  found  it  not  necessary  to  make 
the  consecrations  public,  which  was  the  reason,  as  is  said  above,  why 
the  presbyters  were  desirous  to  know  who  were  Bishops  of  this  Church, 
and  when  they  were  known,  were  all  owned  as  such,  and  submitted  to, 
without  the  least  notion  then  of  that  which  they  afterwards  started, 
concerning  Utopian  Bishops,  or  Bishops  at  large,  who  had  no  concern 
with  this  Church,  as  some  have  since  very  confidently  as  well  as  strangely 
asserted. 

But  though  these  Bishops  had  not  any  great  share  in  the  government 
of  the  Church  before,  they  thought  fit  by  common  consent  to  have  par- 
ticular districts,  over  which  they  might  preside,  and  have  an  immediate 
inspection.  So  Mr  Fullarton  had  Edinburgh,  Mr  Millar  the  Merse 
[Berwickshire],  Mr  Irvine  the  old  Diocese  of  Dunblane,  and  part  of 
Perthshire,  Mr  Falconar  had  Fife,  Angus  [Forfarshire],  and  the 
Mearns  [Kincardineshire],*  Mr  Freebairn  had  Annandale.t  Mr  Cant 
was  so  infirm,  that,  as  I  believe  he  desired  none,  so  none  was  allotted 
him,  being  yet  repute  by  all  as  much  a  Bishop  of  this  Church  as  any  of 


•   Most  of  these  counties  of  Forfar  and  Kincardine,  anciently  Angus  and  Mearns, 
are  in  the  present  Diocese  of  Brechin. 

t  A  district  of  Dumfries-shire  in  the  Archbishopric  of  Glasgow. 


APPENDIX.  523 

the  rest.     Thus  I  think  they  continued  without  any  disturbance  or  mo- 
lestation, all  the  presbyters  in  the  several  districts  submitting  to  them 
till  the  arrival  of  Mr  Gadderar  in  this  kingdom  in  the  summer  of  1722. 

I  should  have  told  above,  that  besides  these  mentioned  Bishops,  there 
were  two  consecrated  in  England — Mr  Archibald  Campbell,  uncle  to 
the  Duke  of  Argyll,  and  the  just  named  Mr  Gadderar,  who  was  a  mini- 
ster in  Scotland  before  the  Revolution,  but  then  resided  in  England. 
These  two  were  consecrated  Bishops  of  this  Church,  and  were  always 
esteemed  such,  though  none  of  them  at  that  time  lived  in  Scotland. 

There  were  certain  persons  in  our  own  neighbouring  nation  who  en- 
deavoured to  revive,  sometime  before  this,  some  ancient  Usages  or  cus- 
toms, which  obtained  in  the  Primitive  Church,  such  as  mixing  water  with 
the  wine  in  the  Holy  Eucharist,  prayers  for  the  dead,*  and  chrism  in 
baptism  and  confirmation  ;f  and  to  such  a  length  they  went,  that  they 
must  strike  out  the  Decalogue  out  of  the  Liturgy,  for  the  Fourth  Com- 
mandment, which  was  Jewish,  and  in  place  of  it  use  that  summary  of 
the  Moral  Law  delivered  by  our  Lord — "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart,  with  all  thy  soul,  with  all  thy  mind,  and  with 
all  thy  strength,  and  thy  neighbour  as  thyself.  "J 

All  these  things  spread  so  in  England,  among  the  Nonjuring  clergy 
there,  and  were  so  tossed  even  among  ourselves,  a  considerable  party  of 
them  appearing  against  such  things,  that  there  were  a  great  many 
pamphlets  written  on  the  one  side  and  on  the  other  ;  which  made  the 
matter  be  much  farther  known  than  I  believe  the  first  revivers  intended, 
and  brought  their  enemies  more  into  their  secrets  than  otherwise  ;  and 
perhaps  made  them  set  themselves  more  to  crush  and  overthrow  them, 
than  without  this  would  have  been  done. 

While  these  things  were  agitating  in  England,  several  letters  were 
sent  to  Dr  Rose,  then  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  to  have  his  concurrence 
with  respect  to  these  Usages,  and  so  to  bring  over  the  rest  of  the  clergy 

•  If  by  the  words  prayers  for  the  dead  the  writer  means  the  Roman  Catholic 
practice,  he  is  completely  mistaken.  All  that  was  maintained  in  this  Usage  was  tho 
duty  of  commemorating  the  faithful  d.  parted  in  the  administration  of  the  Holy  Eu- 
charist. 

|    In  tli.  m  assertions  he  errs  most  cgrc^iously. 

J  This,  if  correct  at  all,  must  only  refer  to  the  practice  of  a  l,w  individuals,  for 
it  nowhere  appears  that  such  an  alt.  ration  or  substitution  was  at  any  time  pre- 
valent, or  sanctioned  by  authority. 


524  APPENDIX. 

of  Scotland  to  favour  such  things  ;  but  he  was  too  wise  a  man,  and  had 
the  affairs  of  the  Church  too  much  at  heart,  to  consent  to  any  such 
thing. 

When  they  found  that  their  several  negotiations  by  letter  succeeded 
not,  they  sent  hither  one  Mr  Peck,  a  clergyman  of  their  number,  to  try 
not  only  to  persuade  the  Bishop  with  respect  to  these  things  in  debate, 
but  to  bring  over,  if  he  could,  some  of  the  inferior  clergy  to  his  way. 
He  prevailed  with  none,  for  ought  I  could  learn,  but  one  Mr  Cockburn,* 
in  whose  meeting-house  he  frequently  officiated,  and  being  sent  away 
with  a  full  answer  to  all  they  required. 

I  was  told  it  was  a  great  many  months  before  that  answer  was  noti- 
fied to  the  [Nonjuring]  clergy  of  England,  being  for  a  long  time  indus- 
triously kept  up,  that  they  might  not  know  the  judgment  of  the  Church 
of  [in]  Scotland,  which  might  perhaps  have  stumbled  them  in  their  par- 
ticular way  of  thinking. 

But  that  Bishop  [Dr  Rose]  being  dead,  as  I  hinted  above,  Dr  Gad- 
derar  was  sent  down  under  the  pretence  of  being  chaplain  to  the  Vis- 
count of  Arbuthnot.t  While  he  was  in  town  [Edinburgh],  he  did  visit 
and  was  visited  by  the  several  Bishops  who  resided  in  Edinburgh  ;  and 
though  they  seriously  conferred  on  matters  which  regarded  the  peace 
and  unity  of  the  Church,  they  could  bring  him  to  no  terms  ;  he  would 
not  so  much  as  communicate  with  them. 

The  Presbyters  of  Aberdeen  had,  it  seems,  met  together,  and  chose 
Mr  Campbell,  then  in  England,  for  their  Bishop.  He  could  not,  or 
was  not  inclined  to  come  to  Scotland,  and  so  he  devolved  his  right 
which  he  had  to  Aberdeen  over  to  Mr  Gadderar,  he  designing  to  come 
and  reside  near  them. 

When  the  other  Bishops  and  he  communed  together,  he  said  he 
had  accepted  the  See  of  Aberdeen  as  by  deputation  from  Mr  Campbell, 
so  would  own  none  of  them  in  it,  and,  therefore,  without  any  more,  away 
he  posts  to  my  Lord  Arbuthnot's  family,  and  in  some  time  after  visits 
the  clergy  of  Aberdeen,  who  accepted  him  for  their  Bishop  without  any 
regard  to  the  rest.  And  he,  favouring  mightily  the  Usages,  brought  over 
a  great  many  of  the  clergy  to  these,  so  that  an  open  rupture  threatened 

"  ProbabW  the  Rev.  William  Cockburn,  enumerated  in  the  preceding  list  of  the 
presbyters  residing  in  and  near  Edinburgh. 

f   This  Nobleman  must  have  been  John  fifth  Viscount,  who  died  in  1756. 


APPENDIX.  525 

the  Church,  and  all  seemed  to  go  to  ruin  and  confusion  by  the  several 
different  methods  which  some  in  the  North  very  violently  pursued. 
Upon  which  the  Bishops  of  Scotland  thought  it  proper  to  bestir  them- 
selves in  a  matter  of  so  great  consequence,  and,  therefore,  they  wrote 
frequently  to  Mr  Gadderar,  but  without  any  satisfactory  returns.  He 
wished  they  might  delay  matters  of  that  nature,  and  not  inquire  nar- 
rowly into  his  conduct  with  respect  to  the  management  of  his  diocese, 
and  I  believe  as  little  did  he  promise  to  meddle  with  them. 

But  since  they  justly  thought  that  the  government  of  the  Church  re- 
sided in  them,  and  that  they  were  to  allow  nothing  to  be  introduced 
into  it  which  might  tend  to  its  disadvantage,  those  shifts  did  not  please 
them.  However,  Mr  Gadderar  still  went  on,  and  gained  proselytes 
every  day  to  his  new  opinions.  He  made  his  circuits  in  great  pomp 
and  parade,*  with  a  numerous  retinue  of  the  clergy  still  attending  him, 
and  those  of  the  bounds  where  he  came  appointed  to  wait  on  him,  which 
they  did,  and  no  doubt  received  his  commands;  And  so  forward  was 
he  in  those  matters,  that  he  will  not  content  himself  with  the  See  of 
Aberdeen  only,  but  he  must  needs  travel  into  Moray  ;  so  he  came  as  far 
as  Elgin,  confirmed  all  the  children  in  the  way,  and  exercised  all  the 
rest  of  the  parts  of  the  Episcopal  function  and  jurisdiction.  And  now 
those  who  adhered  to  him  called  more  loudly  to  introduce  all  things 
they  thought  fit  into  the  public  worship  of  God  ;  nay,  it  was  said  actu- 
ally practised  these  Usages,  as  they  spoke  for  them  in  all  conversations, 
thus  to  bring  over  the  laity  also  to  their  particular  way  of  thinking,  and 
make  them  favour  what  they  intended  to  do. 

All  this  still  more  alarmed  the  plurality  of  the  Bishops,  who  saw 
plainly  what  dismal  effects  and  consequences  must  ensue  upon  these 
tilings  when  some  followed  one  way,  some  another.  They  would  at 
last  become  a  prey  to  their  enemies,  who  wanted  nothing  but  to  gain 
by  their  divisions.  Upon  tins  the  clergy  of  Edinburgh  were  summoned, 
and  all  the  Bishops  in  town  were  present,  where  they  resolved  that  a 
presbyter  should  be  sent  to  Mr  Gadderar  with  all  the  necessary  instruc- 
tions, and  if  he  would  not  at  all  go  in  to  necessary  measures  for  pre- 
serving  and  governing  the  Church  of  [in]  Scotland,  in  conjunction  with 

•  These  *•  circuits*'  are  noticed  by  Wodrow  in  the  extract  from  his  Analecta,  in. 
•■•il  in  tli"  presenl  rolome  (p.  249),  bat  1"-  takes  no  notice  "t"  the  alleged  "  pomp 
and  parade  '  of  Bishop  Gaddei 


526  APPENDIX. 

the  rest  of  his  colleagues,  they  intended,  much  against  their  inclination, 
to  proceed  to  the  utmost  sentence  against  him  ;  and  this  no  doubt  was 
accordingly  notified  to  him,  and  he  persuaded  to  take  advice  not  to  run 
into  such  courses,  as  certainly  he  would  repent,  when  it  was  far  better 
to  do  it  in  time. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Bishops  thought  it  proper  to  guard  all  the  pres- 
byters of  the  kingdom  as  much  as  they  were  able  against  everything 
that  might  tend  to  endanger  the  interest  of  that  Church  which  they 
were  so  much  bound  to  preserve.  Accordingly,  they  drew  up  a  Formula, 
as  it  was  called,  by  which  every  presbyter  was  bound  to  subscribe  that 
he  would  use  no  innovations  on  the  worship  of  God,  particularly  by 
mixing  water  into  the  wine  in  the  Holy  Eucharist,  prayers  for  the  dead, 
and  such  like,  which,  for  the  peace  of  the  Church,  they  obliged  them- 
selves to  stand  up  against,  and  only  make  use  of  the  English  or  Scottish 
Liturgy,  either  of  which  was  freely  granted  to  all  as  their  several  in- 
clinations led  them,  because  this  was  insisted  on  by  some,  and  at  the 
same  time  was  represented  as  not  at  all  breaking  the  unity  and  order 
of  the  Episcopal  Church.* 

So  they  began  with  the  clergy  of  Edinburgh  to  subscribe  this  For- 
mula, all  of  whom  did  it  excepting  one  or  two,  who  were  told  that  if 
they  did  it  not  they  must  give  over  their  charges,  they  [the  Bishops] 
being  positively  resolved  that  none  who  officiated  in  Edinburgh  should 
remain  there  while  they  refused  any  such  thing  ;  and  so  I  was  told  they 
frankly  went  in  as  well  as  the  rest. 

The  x4.berdeenshire  clergy  laughed  at  any  such  thing,  exclaiming  that 
it  was  not  in  their  power  thus  to  bind  up  the  consciences  of  presbyters, 
there  being  no  full  convocation  of  the  whole  Church  to  enact  things  of 
so  great  moment  as  they  thought  them,  and  far  less  when  they  did  not 
own  their  authority  at  all.     However,  it  was  sent  to  the  several  parts  of 

*  The  "  Formula  "  was  as  follows: — '*  Edinburgh,  April  1724. — Considering  the 
present  danger  of  the  Church,  and  that  her  peace  and  unity  are  like  to  be  broken  by 
the  endeavours  of  some  to  introduce  certain  Usages,  such  as  the  mixture  of  water 
with  wine  in  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Eucharist,  prayers  for  the  dead,  and  some 
others,  I,  A.  B  ,  do  faithfully  declare  and  promise,  that,  for  preserving  the  peace 
and  unity  of  the  Church,  which  to  all  good  men  ought  to  be  very  dear  and  precious, 
I  shall  not  make  any  innovation  in  the  doctrine  and  worship  of  this  Church,  as  now 
received  among  us,  by  introducing  or  practising  any  of  the  said  Usages." 


APPENDIX.  527 

the  kingdom  where  there  were  any  presbyters,  and  some  appearing 
against  it,  the  gentlemen  in  whose  houses  they  resided  would  not  so  well 
bear  their  disregard  to  the  authority  of  those  who  they  justly  thought 
as  a  College  had  power  to  order  the  affairs  of  the  Church.  And  when 
they  proceeded  farther  to  insist  upon  introducing  these  Usages  into  the 
worship  of  God,  they  told  them  plainly  they  would  admit  no  such  things, 
and  if  they  were  resolved  on  these  they  must  seek  out  other  places  for 
themselves. 

So  Mr  R 1  J n  left  Logic- Almond's  family,*  Mr  A w 

G— d  my  Lord  Nairne's,t  and  Mr  A s  Balgowan's  ;|  and,  which 

was  very  strange,  they  all  went  off  without  letters-demissory  from  their 
Bishop,  and  yet  were  received  in  other  places,  which  shows  what  dis- 
mal confusion  there  was  then  in  the  Church,  and  how  far  it  might  go  if 
not  prevented.  In  several  other  places  of  the  kingdom  the  Formula  was 
well  enough  received  ;  and  they  whose  minds  were  not  yet  prejudiced 
or  biassed  by  those  Usages  cordially  went  into  it. 

But  the  care  and  vigilance  of  the  governors  of  the  Church  [the  Col- 
lege of  Bishops]  did  not  rest  here  ;  considering  what  influence  the  gen- 
tlemen might  have,  and  how  necessary,  therefore,  it  was  to  bring  them 
to  just  and  worthy  sentiments  in  these  matters, §  they  directed  a  cir- 
cular letter  to  all  in  the  kingdom,  in  which  the  clergy  were  movingly 
put  in  mind  of  their  duty,  and  at  the  same  time  the  laics  were  addressed ; 
and  so  I  have  set  it  down  at  large,  the  copy  of  which  is  as  followeth  : — 

"  Unto  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland,  as  well  Clergy  as  Laity,  the 
plurality  of  the  College  of  Bishops  who  have  the  inspection  and  super- 
intendence of  the  said  Church,  send  greeting : — The  peace  and  unity  of 

"  Drummond  of  Logie- Almond  in  Perthshire. 

f  Murray,  Lord  Nairne,  a  Peerage  createdjn  1681,  and  afterwards  merged  into  a 
younger  branch  of  the  Ducal  House  of  Atholl.  The  family  scat  was  Stanley  House 
In  the  parish  of  Anchtergaven,  Perthshire,  an  old  mansion,  built  at  different  times, 
delightfully  rituated  amid  magnificent  soenery  on  the  hanks  of  the  Tay  near  the  vil- 
e  of  Stanley.  Both  the  mansion  and  thriving  village  derive  their  name  from  Lady 
Amelia  Stanley,  daughter  of  James  Karl  of  Derby,  who  married  the  first  Marquis  of 
Atholl. 

Iraham  of  Balgowan,  la  Perthshire,  i  family  represented  by  the  gallant  Lord 
Lynedo*  h. 

§  It  is  here  to  be  observed,  thai  long  before  and  after  this  period  many  of  the  prin- 
cipal nobility  and  gentry  of  Scotland  retained  Episcopal  clergymen  In  their  hunflfc 
private  chaplains,  and  in  some  oases  ai  preceptors  to  their  children. 


528  APPENDIX. 

this  National  Church  is  a  matter  of  so  great  importance  to  us,  and  to 
all  who  wish  well  to  religion,  that  we  cannot  think  without  horror  and 
the  utmost  detestation  of  allowing  anything  to  be  brought  forward  into 
the  doctrine  or  worship  of  this  Church  that  tends  in  the  least  to  separate 
or  divide  us.  Which  was  the  reason  why  we  refused  to  give  our  con- 
sent to  some  of  our  brethren  their  practising  in  the  public  worship  some 
Usages,  such  as  the  mixing  of  water  with  the  wine  in  the  celebration  of 
the  Holy  Eucharist,  praying  for  the  dead,  and  some  others,  which  the 
godly  and  learned  divines,  pious  confessors,  and  holy  martyrs,  who  com- 
piled the  Liturgy  which  now  we  use,  thought  fit  and  expedient  upon  the 
review  thereof  to  keep  out  and  lay  aside,  none  of  the  divines  at  that 
time  expressing  any  dissatisfaction  thereat,  or  murmuring  against  the 
want  of  these  Usages  :  and  seeing  the  unreasonable  reviving  and  press- 
ing of  these  Usages  by  an  incompetent  authority  have  broken  and  di- 
vided our  brethren  in  England,  and  cannot  miss  to  have  the  same  fatal 
effect  if  they  are  in  the  same  unwarrantable  manner  introduced  among 
us  :  Wherefore  these  are  earnestly  to  exhort  and  obtest,  in  the  bowels  of 
Jesus  Christ,  all  of  you,  our  dear  friends,  carefully  to  shun  these  fatal 
rocks  whereon  others  have  been  shipwrecked  before  you.  And  for  this 
purpose  we  judge  it  meet  to  lay  before  you,  our  reverend  brethren  of  the 
clergy,  for  refreshing  of  your  memories,  that  at  your  ordination,  con- 
form to  the  Ordinal,  you  promised  solemnly  to  maintain  and  set  forward, 
as  much  as  lies  in  you,  quietness,  peace,  and  love,  among  all  Christian 
people,  and  especially  among  them  that  are  or  shall  be  committed  to 
vour  charge :  to  which  promise  your  reviving  of  these  Usages  at  this 
unseasonable  time  is  not  reconcileable. 

"  You  also  farther  promised  in  that  same  Ordinal  by  which  you  were 
ordained,  to  give  faithful  diligence  always  to  minister  the  doctrine  and 
sacraments  as  the  Lord  hath  commanded,  and  as  this  Church  and  realm 
have  received  the  same. 

"  Now  the  Church  and  Realm  mentioned  in  the  said  Ordinal  did  and 
do  still  minister  the  doctrine  and  sacraments  without  these  Usages,  in 
the  same  manner  as  we  do  at  present.  And  if  you  will  keep  faithfully 
that  religious  promise  which  you  made  to  God  and  his  Church  on  so 
solemn  an  occasion,  then  ye  will  forbear  the  mixture  and  the  foresaid 
Usages,  and  the  incurring  our  just  and  necessary  censure. 

"  So  great  was  our  condescending  care,  that  it  induced  us  to  indulge 


APPENDIX.  529 

our  scrupulous  brethren  in  the  use  of  the  Communion  Office  as  in  our 
Scottish  Liturgy,  hoping  thereby  to  prevent  all  further  disturbance. 
But  seeing  neither  this,  nor  their  own  express  passing  from  the  absolute 
and  indispensable  necessity  of  these  said  Usages,  can  restrain  them  from 
such  measures  as  do  plainly  tend  to  rend  and  destroy  this  afflicted 
Church,  we  have  found  it  necessary  to  issue  out  this  our  loving  remon- 
strance and  injunction. 

"  Finally,  brethren,  farewell.     Be  perfect,  be  of  good  comfort,  be  of 
one  mind.     Live  in  peace,  and  the  God  of  peace  shall  be  with  you. 

"(Sic  subscribitur) — John,  Bishop  of  Edinburgh ;  Ar.  Millar,  Bishop ; 
Will.  Irvine,  Bishop  ;  And.  Cant,  Bishop  ;  Dav.  Freebairx,  Bishop. 
Given  at  Edinburgh,  February  the  12th,  1723." 

Mr  Gadderar,  finding  that  matters  thus  run  high  against  him,  and 
that  he  must  either  satisfy  the  rest  of  the  Bishops  or  else  stand  by  him- 
self, and  so  make  a  grievous  rupture  in  the  Church,  upon  mature  deli- 
beration thought  it  more  advisable  to  submit  himself,  and  so  he  came 
to  Edinburgh,  and  was  fully  pleased  to  enter  into  terms  of  agreement 
with  them,  which  were  accordingly  drawn  up,  and  were  called  the  Cox- 
cordate,  by  which  he  promised  not  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  Church 
by  any  public  use  of  these  Usages,  and  accepted  the  Bishopric  of  Aber- 
deen, not  as  by  deputation  from  Mr  Campbell,  in  England,  nor  merely 
by  the  election  of  the  presbyters,  but  from  the  College  of  Bishops  ap- 
pointing him  to  inspect  the  affairs  thereof,  by  which  he  was  to  act  in 
concert  with  them  in  public  concerns.  And  thus  stood  matters  till  some 
time  after  the  College  of  Bishops  were  to  consecrate  one  Mr  Xorrie, 
minister  in  Dundee,  [when]  Mr  Rattray  of  Craighall,  of  whom  frequent 
mention  will  be  made  hereafter,  mado  a  formal  protestation  against  it, 
which  went  so  far  as  to  be  printed,  but  there  being  very  few  copies  of  it, 
I  never  yet  could  see  one. 

>\v  it  was  that  Bishops  of  districts,  or  provincial  Bishops,  and 
Bishops  at  large,  who  havo  no  places  assigned  to  them  particularly, 
made  so  great  a  noise,  which  was  only  whispered  before,  but  now  loudly 
spok e.  However,  they  went  on  to  consecrate  Mr  Xorrie,  and  great  in- 
terest was  made  that  Mr  Rattray  should  be  so  too  ;  but  having  embarked 
with  Mr  Gadderar,  it  was  not  thought  proper.  Mr  Norrie  died  some 
time  after,  but  the  dispute  did  not  die  with   him,  for  there  being  some 

persons  named  by  the  K —  t<>  be  consecrated,  particularly  Mr  Rose, 

2 1 


530  APPENDIX. 

brother  to  the  late  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  Mr  Ouchterlonie,  and  Mr 
Gillan,  the  presbyters  of  Edinburgh  made  a  terrible  outcry  against  the 
last  for  reasons  not  worth  mentioning,  but  which  made  him  decline  the 
promotion  out  of  great  modesty  for  some  time. 

Mr  Fullarton,  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  having  retired  a  little  to  his 
country  seat  in  the  West,  desired  that  in  his  absence  those  Bishops  who 
were  in  Edinburgh  would  be  pleased  to  consecrate  the  three  named  by 
the  K — g.  Mr  Gillan,  as  I  said,  declined  it  for  that  time  ;  but  the 
other  two,  to  wit,  Mr  Rose  and  Mr  Ouchterlonie,  were  accordingly  con- 
secrated. A  very  little  after  accounts  came  of  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh's 
death  in  April  1727,  and  then  the  presbyters  of  Edinburgh  convened, 
and  some  of  them  hastily  chose  Bishop  Millar  for  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  ; 
others  of  them  thought  that  election  too  predisputal  and  irregular,  and 
so  dissented,  which  some  of  the  Bishops  thought  too.  However,  some 
time  after,  the  Bishops  meeting  in  Edinburgh,  matters  might  have  been 
made  up  among  them,  but  unhappily  Bishop  Millar  had  struck  in  with 
the  Usage  Party,  as  it  was  called,  and  so  would  not  own  the  College  of 
Bishops,  nor  exercise  any  authority  as  by  their  permission  or  consent. 

Mr  Gadderar,  looking  on  this  as  a  favourable  juncture  wherein  to 
have  Mr  Rattray  consecrated,  which  was  attempted  in  vain  before,  plied 
Bishop  Millar  so  close,  and  persuaded  Mr  Cant  to  join  in  with  them, 
that  he  was  instantly  consecrated.  Mr  Gadderar  and  M  r  Rattray  buoyed 
up  Mr  Millar  so  with  a  metropolitical  power,  of  which  he  was  too  fond, 
and  was  indeed  a  great  weakness  in  him,  that  he  could  deny  those  per- 
sons nothing  who  fed  him  up  with  that  weak  fancy  to  which  the  others 
would  never  assent,  as  having  all  a  joint  right  and  interest  in  the  go- 
vernment of  the  Church.  Now  things  came  to  an  open  rupture.  Mr 
Millar  would  not  so  much  as  meet  with  those  Bishops  who  were  on  the 
other  side  of  the  question,  to  wit,  against  his  high  metropolitical  power  ;* 
and  he,  together  with  the  rest  of  his  faction,  to  strengthen  themselves, 
assumed  into  the  episcopate  one  Mr  Dunbar,  a  minister  in  the  North, 
and  Mr  Keith, f  a  minister  in  Edinburgh. 

The  others,  considering  these  things  to  give  great  weight  to  their 

•  This  "  high  metropolitical  power,"  mentioned  by  the  writer  with  such  bitterness, 
seems  to  have  been  the  office  of  Primus. 

f  The  distinguished  author  of  the  History  of  Scotland  during  Queen  Mary's  reign, 
and  of  the  Catalogue  of  the  Scottish  Bishops. 


APPENDIX.  531 

consultations  and  authority,  consecrated  Mr  David  Ranken  and  Mr 
John  Gillan,  the  latter  of  whom,  as  I  said,  should  have  been  consecrated 
before,  but  was  not  till  the  11th  of  June,  St  Barnabas'  Day,  being  Sun- 
day, 1727.  The  others  standing  much  on  districts,  Mr  Dunbar  was 
chosen  Bishop  of  Moray  ;  and  Mr  Millar  being  old  and  failed,  Mr 
Keith  was  chosen  in  coadjutorem  nostrum,  in  order  to  cover  all  their 
designs. 

And  thus  the  unhappy  division  broke  out  fully,  six  against  six — Mr 
Millar,  Mr  Gadderar,  Mr  Rattray,  Mr  Dunbar,  Mr  Keith,  and  Mr 
Cant,  on  the  one  part,  the  last  of  whom,  though  he  was  very  much  ab 
agendo,  being  far  advanced  in  years,  and  very  little  advised  by  them, 
yet  was  by  other  arts  still  looked  on  as  one  of  them.  Mr  Duncan,  Mr 
Freebairn,  Mr  Rose,  Mr  Ouchterlonie,  Mr  Ranken,  and  Mr  Gillan,  on 
the  other ;  and  frequent  messages  were  sent  from  the  one  side  to  the 
other,  and  terms  proposed,  those  from  the  Provincial  Bishops,  as  they 
called  themselves,  were  thus — "  Terms  laid  down  by  the  Bishop  of 
Edinburgh  and  his  comprovincial  or  diocesan  Bishops,  and  proposed  by 
them  to  their  brethren  the  Bishops  at  large,  in  order  to  the  establishing 
the  peace  of  the  Church. 

"  I.  Seeing  there  can  be  no  order  or  unity  preserved  in  any  national 
or  provincial  Church  without  a  metropolitan,  that  all  do  own  Bishop 
Millar  for  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  and  that  as  vicar-general  the  metropo- 
litical  powers  are  lodged  in  him. 

"II.  Seeing  all  assemblies  of  Bishops  are  intended  principally  for 
deliberating  upon  and  regulating  the  affairs  of  the  flock  of  Christ,  re- 
spectively committed  to  them,  it  is  evident  none  can  have  a  decisivo 
vote  but  such  Bishops  as  have  a  portio  gregis  entrusted  to  them. 

"  III.  The  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  and  his  other  comprovincial  Bishops 
are  willing  to  maintain  good  correspondence  with  such  Bishops  as  have 
no  portio  gregis  committed  to  them,  but  aro  only  Bishops  at  large,  to 
call  them  to  their  meetings,  and  ask  their  advice  on  weighty  matters, 
and  if  any  of  them  shall  hereafter  have  particular  charges,  i.  c.  Dioceses 
or  Districts  committed  to  them  by  a  regular  election  from  a  competent 
number  of  Presbyters,  confirmed  by  tho  comprovincial  Bishops,  they 
will  then  come  to  havo  a  right  to  a  decisive  vote  in  affair-  relating  to 
the  general  benefit  of  tho  Church." 

These  were  not  at  all  satisfying,  and,  therefore,  after  all  methods  bad 


532  APPENDIX. 

proved  ineffectual,  the  Bishops  on  the  opposite  side  having  summoned 
Bishop  Millar  to  compear  before  them,  and  he  refusing,  they  suspended 
him  from  all  exercise  of  his  episcopal  function,  and  ordered  this  to  be 
notified  to  him  and  the  clergy,  which  was  accordingly  done.  However, 
he,  not  in  the  least  regarding  this,  went  on  in  his  usual  way  to  ordain 
presbyters,*  and  to  hold  several  meetings,  till  he  was  taken  away  by 
death,  which  happened  in  October  that  year,  1727. 

Some  time  after  his  death,  the  presbyters  met  together  to  choose  a 
Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  and  they  pitched  upon  one  Mr  Andrew  Lumsden, 
an  old  and  discreet  presbyter,  who  all  thought  would  have  put  an  end 
to  the  troubles  of  the  Church,  but  he  striking  in  with  the  Usage  Bishops, 
as  they  were  then  called,  and  receiving  his  consecration  from  them,  left 
matters  in  the  same  unhappy  state  they  were  before.  He  would  not,  he 
said,  disclaim  his  right  and  title  to  a  metropolitical  power,  though  he 
was  frequently  urged  to  this,  because  it  might  prejudge  his  successor, 
but  he  would  not  employ  it  even  when  given  him,  which  the  other 
Bishops  did  not  think  fit  to  consent  to. 

While  matters  stood  thus  the  Right  Rev.  Mr  David  Ranken  died  in 
November  1728,  a  person  of  indefatigable  labour  and  diligence  in  pro- 
moting the  peace  and  concord  of  the  Church,  which  being  very  much 
defeated  by  the  restless  spirit  of  some,  troubled  him  exceedingly,  and 
the  gravel  increasing  on  him  at  last  cut  him  off. 

All  the  Bishops  at  length  reflecting  how  fatally  dangerous  to  the 
Church  their  divisions  were,  resolved  to  meet  together,  and  put  an  end 
to  them,  which  they  happily  did  in  December  1731 — all  mutually  em- 
bracing each  other,  owning  all  the  consecrations  as  good  and  valid,  and 
promising  to  do  what  in  them  lay  to  preserve  and  promote  the  unity  and 
peace  of  the  Church.  And  considering  it  might  contribute  to  this,  to 
put  what  marks  of  regard  they  could  upon  Bishop  Freebairn,  they  con- 
stituted him  their  Primus  or  Preses,  to  convocate  them  together  upon 
the  necessary  affairs  of  the  Church.  But  this  was  so  displeasing  to 
Bishop  Lumsden,  that  he  seldom  after  attended  any  of  their  meetings, 
or  regarded  their  authority,  doing  every  thing  as  he  thought  proper, 
without  advising  them,  which  they  took  so  ill  that  they  were  resolved  to 

*  The  writer  adds "  I  do  not  remember  he  ordained  any  but  one  presbyter,  who 

is  since  dead." 


APPENDIX.  Oor> 

meet,  to  expostulate  the  affair  with  him,  and  to  advise  that  they  should 
take  joint  measures  for  the  government  of  the  Church. 

But  it  happened  that  the  very  day  before  their  meeting,  which  was 
the  20th  day  of  June  1733,  Bishop  Lumsden  died,  and  so  Providence 
prevented  any  misunderstanding  which  might  have  risen  among  them. 
This  year  proved  fatal  to  the  Episcopal  Church  in  the  death  of  many 
eminent  of  her  Bishops  ;  for  in  January  died  Mr  Duncan  at  Glasgow  ; 
in  March,  Mr  Gadderar  at  Aberdeen  ;  and  in  April,  Mr  Rose  at  Cupar 
[Fife] ;  and  the  19th  day  of  June,  Bishop  Lumsden  at  Edinburgh. 
Upon  the  28th  of  that  month,  Bishop  Freebairn  was  unanimously  cho- 
sen Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  and  on  the  same  day  his  election  confirmed 
by  the  rest  of  the  Bishops,  being  then  in  the  place  ;  and  Mr  Dunbar 
was  chosen  Bishop  of  Aberdeen  with  the  approbation  also  of  all  his  col- 
leagues. 

There  was  one  Mr  Maben,  a  deacon,  who  being  arraigned  before  Bishop 
Lumsden  for  an  irregular  marriage,  was  suspended  before  the  thing  was 
fully  proved.  The  Bishops,  upon  application  to  them,  found  this  a  bad 
precedent,  and  therefore  ordered  that  Bishop  Freebairn,  a  month  after 
his  coming  to  the  See  of  Edinburgh,  should  take  off  this  sentence  till 
the  fact  libelled  should  be  proven,  and  then  to  proceed  against  him  as 
he  pleased.  The  presbyters  who  supported  their  plea  against  Mr  Maben 
thought  this  bore  hard  on  them  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  two  Bishops 
in  town,  Messrs  Gillan  and  Keith,  were  for  maintaining  the  authority 
of  the  Bishops.  However,  the  presbyters  came  to  have  the  better  of  it, 
for  they  so  dealt  with  Bishop  Freebairn,  that  he  not  only  continued  the 
sentence,  but  fixed  it  with  all  solemnity  ;  by  which  means  a  little  misun- 
derstanding happened  between  the  Bishops  in  Edinburgh  and  Bishop 
Freebairn,  who  so  represented  things  to  the  rest  of  the  Bishops,  that 
when  Bishop  Freebairn  as  Primus  called  a  meeting  of  the  Bishops  at 
Edinburgh  [on]  the  3d  day  of  July  1734,  they  all  unanimously  declined 
it  except  Bishop  Ouchterlonie.  All  the  rest,  to  wit,  Bishops  Rattray, 
Dunbar,  Gillan,  and  Keith,  gave  in  a  formal  declinature  subscribed  by 
each,  upon  the  receipt  of  which  Bishop  Freebairn  wrote  a  letter  full  of 
disagreeable  expressions,  and  which  showed  too  much  an  angry  resent- 
ment, copies  of  which  he  caused  deliver  to  the  four  Bishops,  who  dis- 

ited  from  his  proceedings,  and  two  <>f  them.  Bishops  Rattray  and 
Dunbar,  returned  answers  to  convince  him  how  unreasonable  he  wa  , 


534  APPENDIX. 

but  they  were  not  at  all  satisfying  ;  however,  after  some  replies  matters 
were  laid  asleep. 

I  cannot  here  omit  to  remember  the  piety  of  a  certain  considerable 
lady  in  England,  who,  considering  the  distresses  that  the  Episcopal 
clergy  of  Scotland  lay  under,  did  very  charitably  bequeath  to  them  in 
legacy  L.400  sterling,  L.10  to  every  Bishop,  the  rest  to  be  divided 
equally  among  the  presbyters,  which  was  accordingly  done  in  December 
1734,  and  by  this  means  a  list  of  all  the  presbyters  in  the  kingdom 
being  necessary,  it  was  found  that  there  were  only  about  a  hundred  and 
thirty — a  smaller  number  than  was  at  first  supposed. 

The  beginning  of  the  year  1735  appeared  in  the  death  of  the  Right  Rev. 
Mr  John  Gillan,  who  died  the  3d  day  of  January.  He  was  a  person  of 
great  learning,  an  admirable  preacher,  and  much  concerned  for  the 
differences  of  the  Church  ;  and  it  was  thought  that  the  slanders  and  de- 
tractions of  some  contributed  not  a  little  to  hasten  his  end.  The  meet- 
ing-house in  which  he  preached  was  so  considerable,  that  the  gentlemen 
invited  Bishop  Rattray  to  officiate  among  them,  which  some  thought  a 
step  to  his  having  the  See  of  Edinburgh,  upon  the  demise  of  Bishop 
Freebairn,  but  he  declined,  so  the  gentlemen  chose  a  discreet  young 
gentleman,  Mr  William  Harper  in  Leith,  who  accepted  it,  and  appear- 
ed there  March  9th. 

As  the  year  before  Bishop  Freebairn  indited  a  meeting  of  the  Bishops, 
so  this  year  another,  he  said,  at  their  own  desire,  to  wit,  of  the  rest  of 
the  Bishops,  on  the  18th  of  June.  They  would  not  meet,  unless  he  pro- 
mised to  consecrate  Mr  White,  minister  of  Cupar  in  Fife,  who  was  to 
preside  over  the  district  of  Dunblane,  in  place  of  Bishop  Gillan  deceas- 
ed. For  the  Presbyters  had  made  application  to  all  the  Bishops  to  pro- 
vide them  with  one,  which  Bishop  Freebairn  took  amiss,  because  they 
did  not  first  make  application  to  him,  and  to  him  only  as  Primus,  and 
therefore  would  not  so  readily  concur  in  the  consecration.  But  Bishops 
Rattray,  Dunbar,  and  Keith,  proceeded  without  him  or  Bishop  Ouch- 
terlonie,  and  so,  on  the  24th  of  June  1735,  consecrated  Mr  White,  which 
still  contributed  to  make  the  breach  wider,  so  that  nothing  now  appeared 
among  them  but  remonstrances,  or  admonitions  and  protestations  from 
Bishops  Freebairn  and  Ouchterlonie  on  one  side,  which  were  answered 
by  Bishops  Rattray,  Dunbar,  and  Keith,  on  the  other. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  year  1738  a  fresh  dispute  arose  between 


APPENDIX.  535 

Bishop  Freebairn  and  Bishop  Keith,  concerning  the  ordination  of  one 
Mr  Spens.*  He  was  designed  for  the  meeting-house  at  the  Wemyss 
[in  Fife],  and,  therefore,  that  district  belonging  to  Bishop  Keith,  he 
ought  to  have  passed  trials  before  the  Presbyters  of  Fife  ;  but  I  know 
not  now  he  applied  to  Bishop  Freebairn,  who  appointed  them  accord- 
ingly before  some  presbyters  of  Edinburgh,  and  did  put  him  in  deacon's 
orders.!  This  was  resented  by  Bishop  Keith,  who  therefore  would  give 
him  no  allowance  to  preach  at  the  Wemyss.  Mr  Spens,  however,  sub- 
mitted, and  that  [affair]  was  over. 

In  April  or  May  that  year  Bishop  Rattray  came  to  Edinburgh,  and 
dealt  with  the  Bishops  there  to  have  a  meeting  of  all  called,  which  was 
indited  for  the  1  lth  of  July  ;  but  when  they  met  there  was  a  proxy,  one 
Mr  Robert  Lyon,  minister  at  Crail,  from  Bishop  Dunbar,  who  could 
not  himself  come,  J  which  neither  Bishops  Freebairn  nor  Ouchterlonie 
would  allow,  and  so  would  by  no  means  constitute  the  meeting ;  upon 
which  Bishops  Rattray,  Keith,  and  the  proxy,  removed  to  a  meeting- 
house in  the  town,  and  constituted  themselves  into  a  meeting  without 
the  others,  and  then  received  Bishop  White,  and  did  what  they  pleased, 
as  yet  unknown  to  us.  Endeavours  were  still  used  to  bring  the  Bishops 
to  an  accommodation  of  the  points  in  debate  before  them,  but  all  to 
little  purpose.  And  thus  stood  matters  when  it  pleased  God  to  call 
away  by  death  Bishop  David  Freebairn,  the  24th  of  December  1739, 
in  the  83d  or  84th  year  of  his  age,  leaving  the  Church  in  too  much 

*  This  gentleman  was  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Spens,  of  the  family  of  Spens  of  Craig - 
sawjuhar,  near  Cupar-Fife.  He  was  afterwards  Episcopal  clergyman  at  Pitteuweem 
in  the  same  county.  The  old  edifice,  a  kind  of  castellated  building,  in  an  apartment 
in  which  the  Episcopal  congregation  at  Wemyss  assembled,  is  still  standing  in  ruins 
on  the  shore  of  the  Frith  of  Forth,  near  the  stately  mansion  of  Wemyss  Castle,  then 
the  seat  of  the  Earls  of  Wemyss,  who  were  the  supporters  of  the  congregation,  which 
has  long  become  extinct. 

f  This  was  a  most  uncanonical  procedure  on  the  part  of  Bishop  Freebairn,  who 
had  no  right  to  interfere  in  Bishop  Keith's  diocesan  district,  without  his  express  con- 
currence. It  appears  from  the  above  details  that  much  personal  animosity  existed 
among  the  Scottish  Bishops  about  this  period. 

|  The  fact  of  Mr  Lynn,  ■  presbyter  from  Crail,  ■ppoaring  as  ;i  proxy  for  Bishop 
Dunbar,  in  a  meeting  of  the  Bishops,  if  what  is  above  stated  is  correct,  i»  in<>-t  ex- 
traordinary, as  is  also  the  subsequent  conduct  of  Bishops  Ilattray  and  White,  in 
adjourning  to  a  "  meeting-house,"  and  allowing  Mr  Lyon  to  sit. 


536  APPENDIX. 

trouble  and  confusion  ;  for  though  he  was  a  man  that  might  understand 
the  interests  of  it,  yet  he  was  too  easily  biassed  by  every  counsel  and 
advice  given  him.  The  presbyters  met  a  few  days  after  his  death,  and 
having  chosen  Mr  William  Harper  to  preside,  did  notify  the  vacancy  of 
the  See  to  the  Bishops,  and  begged  an  order  for  choosing  their  Bishop 
as  soon  as  their  convenience  could  allow.  But  none  coming  in  the 
month  of  April  1740,  they  thought  proper  to  make  an  humble  remon- 
strance to  them  again,  but  all  in  vain,  for  since  they  found  the  presby- 
ters would  not  chime  in  with  some  measures  they  projected,  therefore 
they  would  allow  no  meeting. 

As  Mr  Dunbar  was  old  and  infirm,  to  strengthen  themselves  they  pro- 
posed to  the  presbyters  of  Aberdeen  to  accept  Mr  Andrew  Gerard,  as 
coadjutor  to  their  Bishop,  who  should  succeed  upon  his  demise  ;  but 
the  presbyters  following  the  pattern  they  themselves  [the  Bishops]  had 
set,  would  do  nothing  without  an  election,  and  giving  no  grounds  to 
think  they  would  choose  Mr  Gerard,  the  matter  for  that  time  was  drop- 
ped. But  the  Bishops  consecrated  one  Mr  Falconer,  in  September 
1741,  as  coadjutor  to  Bishop  Keith  in  Orkney  and  Caithness,  and 
other  places  he  could  not  visit. 

In  May  1742  Bishop  Ouchterlonie  died  at  Dundee.  He  was  the  last 
of  those  Bishops  who  appeared  against  any  innovations  in  the  then  re- 
ceived worship  of  the  Church.  Soon  after  the  Bishops  gave  a  mandate 
to  the  presbyters  of  that  district  [the  Diocese  of  Brechin]  to  choose  a 
Bishop  for  themselves,  who  accordingly  elected  Mr  Rait,  a  minister  of 
another  meeting-house  in  Dundee,  who  was  consecrated  at  Edinburgh 
by  Bishops  Rattray,  Keith,  and  White,  in  October  1742. 

The  presbyters  of  Edinburgh,  considering  their  circumstances  in  be- 
ing destitute  of  a  Bishop  to  oversee  them,  met  together  [in]  February 
1743,  and  chose  Bishop  Rattray  to  take  the  temporary  inspection  of 
them  till  in  a  fuller  meeting  one  might  be  elected.  Accordingly,  there 
was  a  letter  written  to  him,  and  subscribed  by  most  of  the  Edinburgh 
clergy.  He  returned  an  obliging  answer  ;  and,  though  he  did  not  fully 
accept,  said  he  would  be  with  them  as  soon  as  he  could  ;  and  about  the 
end  of  April  came,  yet  did  not  call  the  presbyters,  till,  as  was  said, 
there  should  be  a  meeting  of  the  Bishops,  which  was  indited  the  first 
week  in  June.     But  it  pleased  God  to  call  hence  Bishop  Rattray  ;  for, 


APPENDIX.  537 

being  taken  ill  on  Monday,  May  9,  he  died  on  the  12th,  on  Ascension 
Day,  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  age,  to  the  surprise  and  regret  of  many, 
being  vigorous  and  strong. 

In  the  meantime,  there  arose  great  heats  at  Dundee,  about  choosing 
a  minister  for  that  congregation  which  was  formerly  Bishop  Ouchterlo- 
nie's.  That  congregation  was  always  against  any  innovations  in  the 
Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  Mr  Robertson  their  minister 
showing  great  inclination  that  way,  and  shuffling  with  them,  they  re- 
solved to  call  one  Mr  Fyfe,  which  both  Bishop  Rait  and  Mr  Robertson 
not  at  all  allowing,  they,  however,  brought  him  to  town  ;  and  the  Sun- 
day after  Mr  Fyfe  took  possession  of  the  pulpit,  some  time  before  Divine 
service  ordinarily  begun.* 

In  August  1743,  the  Bishops  met  for  the  consecration  of  Mr  Alex- 
ander to  the  district  of  Dunkeld,  in  place  of  Bishop  Rattray,  and  after 
this  formed  themselves  into  a  Synod,  where  they  enacted  several  Canons 
not  very  agreeable  to  the  major  part  of  the  presbyters  of  Edinburgh,  and 
where  also  Bishop  Rait  complained  of  the  conduct  of  Mr  Fyfe.  Upon 
which  two  or  three  of  the  Bishops  were  desired  to  assist  Bishop  Rait  in 
examining  into  that  affair,  and  finding  Mr  Fyfe  resolved  to  that  congre- 
gation which  had  called  him,  they  instantly  depose  him  ;  but  he,  not- 
withstanding, went  on  in  the  exercise  of  his  ministry. 

The  presbyters  of  Edinburgh,  taking  into  their  consideration  the 
Canons  made  in  the  late  Synod,  gave  in  or  sent  to  the  Bishops  a  humble 
representation  against  them  in  January  1744,f  showing  not  only  that 
some  of  them  were  made  without  due  reflection,  but  also  that  the  Bishops 
without  presbyters  could  make  none  such  binding  upon  them.  This 
alarmed  the  Bishops,  and  occasioned  some  papers  upon  both  sides.  And 
Mr  Fyfe  insisting  that  he  was  deposed  for  adhering  to  the  English  Li- 
turgy, this  made  his  interest  be  espoused  by  some  of  the  Nonjuring 
Bishops  of  that  Church,  and  more  warmly  by  one  Bishop  Smith,  lie 
wrote  earnestly  to  Bishop  Keith,  to  be  communicated  to  the  rest,  en- 
treating,  for  sundry  weighty  reasons,  that  Mr  Fyfe,  upon  his  humbling 
himself,  might  be  restored  to  the  peace  of  the  Church  ;  but  all  being  to  no 
purpose,  Bishop  Smith  by  letters  received  him  into  communion.  This 
mightily  displeased  the  Bishops,  complaining  that  he  unduly  meddled 

This  \.tv  outrageoni  conduct  on  tin-  part  <>f  Mi-  Fyfe  indicates  that  the  congre- 
gation *ai  firided  into  two  parties.  f  s,..-  p.  -_>7o.  of  the  present  volume. 


538  APPENDIX. 

in  what  only  concerned  them  ;  and  so  they  drew  up  a  heavy  declaration 
against  his  proceedings,  which  they  sent  to  the  presbyters  of  Scotland, 
to  be  subscribed  by  them,  which  a  great  many  did  ;  but  when  laid  before 
the  presbyters  of  Edinburgh,  they  gave  their  reasons  for  declining  to 
meddle  in  that  affair,  which  they  sent  to  Bishop  Keith,  and  he  re- 
joined. 

In  this  situation  were  things  when  the  Prince,  King  James*  eldest 
son,  landed  in  Scotland,  about  the  end  of  July  1745,  and  having  gather- 
ed some  of  the  Highlanders,  he  marched  first  to  Perth,  and  then  to- 
wards Edinburgh,  where  he  came  the  17th  of  September  ;  and  General 
Cope  having  landed  from  the  North,  the  Prince  went  out  to  meet  him 
on  the  20th,  and  on  St  Matthew's  Day  gained  a  complete  victory.  Then 
returning  to  Edinburgh,  he  stayed  to  be  joined  by  the  rest  of  his  forces, 
and  in  the  beginning  of  November  marched  towards  England.  In  a 
few  days  after  he  had  Carlisle  surrendered  to  him,  and  then  went  for- 
ard  as  far  as  to  Derby,  still  hoping  that  a  great  many  of  the  English 
would  join  him.  But  finding  few  or  none  of  them  would  stir,  and  the 
army  under  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  before  him,  the  Prince  was  obliged 
to  make  a  retreat  back  again  to  Scotland,  which  he  performed  in  so 
gallant  a  manner,  that  he  lost  very  few  of  his  men.  This  retreat  he 
made  about  the  end  of  December,  and  in  order  to  favour  this  he  left 
some  at  Carlisle  to  keep  the  Duke  in  play,  while  he  marched  to  Annan, 
Dumfries,  and  so  forward  to  Glasgow,  where  he  stayed  some  days,  and 
then  made  towards  Stirling,  which  he  intended  to  take.  In  the  mean- 
time the  army  gathered,  and  set  forward  to  Falkirk,  when  the  Prince 
thought  proper  jto  engage  them,  and  defeated  them  on  the  17th  day  of 
January  1746,  that  they  retired  in  great  precipitation,  and  would  have 
been  cut  off,  or  made  prisoners,  had  they  been  pursued.  But  the 
Prince's  army,  contenting  themselves  with  the  advantage  they  gained, 
returned  to  Stirling,  which  they  battered  strongly  ;  but  Cumberland  re- 
turning, and  having  gathered  his  forces,  the  Prince  thought  fit  to  pass 
the  Forth  in  the  beginning  of  February,  and  go  northward,  which  he 
did  the  length  of  Inverness,  took  the  fort  there,  and  continued  recruit- 
ing his  army.  Cumberland  followed,  came  to  Perth,  and  judging  the 
Highland  roads  not  passable  by  his  horse,  and  fatiguing  to  his  men,  he 
marched  by  the  coast  to  Aberdeen,  where  he  stayed  till  the  beginning 
of  April ;  and  then  setting  forward,  he  met  the  Prince's  army  at  Drum- 


APPENDIX.  539 

mossie  [Culloden],  about  two  miles  from  Inverness,  and  there  gained 
a  full  victory  on  the  16th  day  of  April,  after  -which  ensued  terrible  plun- 
derings,  devastations,  and  slaughters  all  over  the  North,  especially  in 
the  Highlands  ;  and  the  Earls  of  Kilmarnock  and  Cromarty,  and  Lord 
Balmerino,  being  taken  prisoners,  they  were  arraigned  and  condemned 
by  the  Peers.  Earl  Cromarty  was  reprieved,  and  Kilmarnock  and  Bal- 
merino were  executed  on  Tower  Hill  the  18th  day  of  August.  Terrible 
murders  ensued,  and  many  suffered  at  London,  Carlisle,  and  other 
places.  In  the  meantime,  the  Prince  wandered  over  the  Highlands,  fre- 
quently in  danger  of  being  surprised  and  taken  ;  but  at  last  he  and  a 
great  number  of  his  followers  got  safe  to  France,  in  the  end  of  Septem- 
ber or  beginning  of  October  1746. 

The  meeting-houses  of  the  Episcopal  clergy  continued  undisturbed 
till  Cumberland's  going  North ;  and  then  there  were  parties  sent  out, 
who  burnt  or  demolished  thirty  or  forty  of  these  places  of  worship,  burn- 
ing the  very  Bibles  and  Prayer-Books  ;  and  after  the  battle  of  Drum- 
mossie  the  meeting-houses  in  Edinburgh  were  shut  up,  and  by  the  act, 
refusing  all,  confined  to  four  only. 

[The  summary  of  the  Enterprise  of  1745-6,  which  concludes  the  pre- 
ceding sketch,  is  much  more  moderately  expressed  than  might  have 
been  expected,  considering  the  writer's  political  principles.  The  same 
MS.  volume  contains  another  document  on  that  interminable  subject 
the  "  Usages,"  which  is  said  to  have  been  written  by  Bishop  Ranken, 
one  of  their  most  resolute  opponents.  It  is  entitled — "  A  Vindication 
of  the  Conduct,  in  a  late  affair,  of  those  who  stand  up  for  the  peace  of 
this  afflicted  Church,  so  much  disturbed  by  certain  persons  ;  together 
with  a  short  Account  of  those  woeful  divisions  which  have  happened 
among  those  of  the  Episcopal  Communion  in  Scotland,  and  upon  whom 
they  are  to  be  charged."] 

"  It  ii,"  says  Bishop  Ranken,  "  with  inexpressible  grief  and  sorrow 
of  heart  that  wo  find  ourselves  obliged  to  appeal  to  all  impartial  and  un 
prejudiced  readers  of  this  paper,  with  relation  to  our  conduct  in  this  af- 
fair. That  we  may  set  in  the  clearest  light  those  woeful  divisions  which 
have  happened  in  this  poor  distressed  Church,  we  shall  traco  them  Dp  to 
their  original  and  source. 


540  APPENDIX. 

"  They  of  the  Episcopal  Communion  in  Scotland,  both  clergy  and 
laity,  enjoyed  profound  peace,  unity,  and  concord,  among  themselves, 
until  some  unhappily  began  to  propagate  opinions  concerning  certain 
antiquated  Usages,  viz.  the  mixing  of  water  with  the  wine  in  the  holy 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  prayers  for  the  dead,  the  use  of  chrism 
to  the  sick,  and  to  do  all  that  was  in  their  power  to  gain  proselytes  to 
have  their  opinions.  And  more  especially  till  Bishop  Gadderar  came 
hither  from  England,  he,  having  got  himself,  by  what  method  we  shall 
not  inquire,  made  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Aberdeen,  did  forthwith  use 
his  utmost  endeavours  to  introduce  the  mentioned  Usages  into  that 
Diocese  and  elsewhere,  with  the  assistance  of  others,  as  he  and  they 
had  any  influence,  and  that  after  a  most  schismatical  manner,  not  only 
without  a  lawful  convocation,  which  such  an  alteration  in  divine  wor- 
ship, though  it  had  been  innocent  as  to  the  rites  themselves,  undoubtedly 
required  and  called  for,  but  also  in  plain  opposition  to  the  majority  of 
the  College  of  Bishops,  who  had  not  only  declared  against  the  use  of  the 
Usages  themselves,  but  had  also  passed  an  act  obliging  the  presbyters 
of  this  Church  to  subscribe  the  Formula,  by  which  they  were  bound  not 
to  use  the  mentioned  Usages. 

"  Bishop  Gadderar,  with  his  adherents,  carried  on  their  unwarrantable 
practices  with  so  much  eagerness  and  contention,  that  the  rest  of  the 
Bishops,  to  prevent  the  scandal  of  an  imminent  rupture,  made  some  con- 
cessions to  him,  with  respect  to  the  Diocese  of  Aberdeen  allenarly,  the 
said  Bishops  at  the  same  time  declaring  they  did  not  approve  the  use 
of  any  [of]  the  mentioned  Usages,  and  particularly  of  the  mixture, 
either  publicly  or  privately,  as  is  clear  from  the  Concordate  then  agreed 
to  ;  but  this  concession  was  so  far  from  remedying  the  evil  for  which 
purpose  it  was  designed,  that  by  the  conduct  and  management  of  Bi- 
shop Gadderar  and  his  adherents,  it  contributed  to  the  growth  thereof. 

"  At  length,  shortly  after  the  death  of  the  Right  Rev.  Mr  Fullartonr 
late  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  whose  easiness  Bishop  Gadderar  and  they  of 
his  party  had  lamentably  abused,  Bishop  Gadderar  and  some  others 
with  him  came  to  Edinburgh,  with  a  view,  as  appeared  by  their  actions 
afterwards,  to  give* the  finishing  hand  to  their  long  projected  work,  by 
practising  on  and  gaining  over  to  their  interest  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  - 
Millar,  the  pretended  successor  to  the  vacant  Diocese  of  Edinburgh. 
Now,  of  this  and  some  material  things  of  the  late  affair,  we  shall  give 


APPENDIX.  54 1 

a  short  account,  referring  those  who  need  farther  satisfaction  therein  to 
the  full  narrative  thereof,  in  a  paper  which  may  be  seen  by  such  as  in- 
quire for  it.* 

"  Now,  how  far  Bishop  Millar  has  been  in  the  interest  of  those  above 
named,  and  how  he  has  put  them  in  a  capacity  to  promote  their  de- 
signs, will  appear — First,  by  considering  that,  notwithstanding  the  Bi- 
shops were  advertised  even  by  himself  to  meet  at  Edinburgh  the  8th  day 
of  June  last,  about  the  important  and  weighty  affairs  of  the  Church, 
yet  he,  upon  the  very  Lord's  Day  immediately  preceding  the  said  8th 
of  June,  with  the  assistance  of  Bishop  Gadderar  and  Bishop  Cant,  upon 
whom  they  had  imposed,  and  entirely  without  the  knowledge  of  the  Bi- 
shops, though  the  major  part  of  the  College,  he  and  they  stole  away  the 
consecration  of  Dr  Rattray  of  Craighall,  whom  they,  the  injured  Bi- 
shops, would  have  embraced  with  open  arms,  and  to  whose  consecration 
they  would  have  cheerfully  consented,  even  notwithstanding  his  former 
deep  concern  in  the  matter  of  the  Usages,  if  he  would  have  given  them 
just  and  full  satisfaction  that  he  would  do  so  no  more. — Second,  What 
we  charge  Bishop  Millar  with  appears  the  more  evident,  because  that 
after  he  had  so  far  gratified  the  desires  and  answered  the  designs  of  his 
new  friends,  he  took  not  a  very  courteous  farewell  of  his  former  brethren, 
by  pretending  to  adjourn  their  meeting  on  the  8th  of  June,  some  days 
before  it,  to  the  22d  of  that  month.  By  this  he  and  his  associates  con- 
cluded that  the  injured  Bishops  would  be  forced  to  leave  the  town,  and 
that  his  and  their  irregular  deed  would  be  concealed,  and  to  escape  that 
censure  it  deserved,  and  then  they  might  go  on  with  the  rest  of  their 
projects  undisturbed.— Third,  Ho  hath  farther  strengthened  the  pa- 
trons and  abettors  of  those  rites  and  practices,  to  which  the  Church  of 
[in]  Scotland  hath  been  a  stranger  since  the  Reformation,  by  consecrat- 
ing Mr  William  Dunbar — a  zealous  promoter  of  them. 

"  Bishop  Millar  did  fully  man  if  es  thow  entirely  ho  was  in  the  interest 
of  Bishop  Gadderar,  Dr  Rattray,  and  Mr  Dunbar,  for  when  he  under 
stood  that  tho  injured  Bishops  continued  still  in  town  [  Edinburgh],  em- 
ployed about  the  affairs  of   the    Church,   then  he  most   imperionslj, 
though  having  no  authority  to  do  so,  adjourned  them  titu  «//>,   that  is, 


*   The  preceding  sketch  eeemi  Co  be  here  indicated,  of  which  probsblj  Bishop 

HanK'-ii  wu  also  the  writer. 


542  APPENDIX. 

not  to  meet  till  it  be  his  pleasure  to  call  them  together,  as  is  to  be  seen 
in  a  letter  under  his  hand. 

"After  all  this,  we  may  justly  put  the  question  to  the  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  Millar,  to  whom  we  wish  sincerely  well,  what  moved  him  to  ne- 
glect and  forsake  so  many  of  his  colleagues,  and  so  plainly  to  contra- 
dict his  own  former  sentiments  and  practices  ?  Was  it,  as  he  boasts,  to 
procure  peace  to  this  distressed  Church,  by  uniting  to  her  the  persons  so 
often  named  upon  just  and  reasonable  terms,  such  as  may  be  owned 
before  the  world  ?  Why,  then,  did  he  conceal  from  us  so  good  a  design, 
and  not  allow  us  the  pleasure  of  being  witnesses  and  approvers  of  the 
agreement,  which,  if  such  as  it  ought  to  have  been,  would  have  yielded  us 
the  greatest  satisfaction?  And  why,  even  after  the  complaints  we  made  of 
his  very  irregular  proceedings,  if  they  whom  he  had  lately  consecrated 
had,  by  their  subscriptions  under  their  hands,  given  full  and  satisfying 
security  with  relation  to  the  Usages,  did  he  not  show  it  to  us  ? 

"  Since  we  think  that  Bishop  Millar  cannot  justify  his  conduct,  by  the 
questions  stated  after  this  manner,  then  we  shall  put  it  another  way. 

"  Did  he  neglect  and  forsake  so  many  of  his  colleagues,  and  plainly 
contradict  his  own  former  sentiments  and  practices,  because  he  was 
jealous  that  these  his  colleagues  would  not  confirm  his  uncanonical  and 
irregular  election  to  the  Diocese  of  Edinburgh  ?  This  reason  is  very  in- 
sufficient— 1.  Because  he  ought  to  have  had  patience,  until  he  did  meet 
with  them,  and  knew  their  mind.  2.  He  had  put  in  execution  the  sur- 
prising measure  he  had  taken  in  the  consecration  of  Dr  Rattray,  before 
his  said  colleagues  came  to  town,  or  knew  any  thing  about  it.  3.  His 
injured  colleagues  being  moved  by  an  ardent  desire  of  peace,  were  will- 
ing, and  that  by  the  consent  of  their  presbyters  who  had  withdrawn 
from  their  brethren,  when  they  proceeded  most  uncanonically  to  elect  a 
Bishop  for  the  Diocese  of  Edinburgh — his  colleagues,  I  say,  were  will- 
ing to  pass  over  the  irregularity  of  his  election,  and  to  consent  that  he 
should  have  the  inspection  and  government  of  the  Diocese  of  Edinburgh, 
and  that  he  should  be  constant  Preses  in  their  meetings,  and  be  empowered 
to  call  them  together,  when  the  exigencies  of  the  Church  required  it, 
with  these  conditions — 1.  That  he  should  not  pretend  to  an  exorbitant 
power  and  jurisdiction,  and  [not]  to  govern  this  Church  without  the  con- 
sent and  joint  authority  of  his  colleagues.  2.  That  he  would  give  full  as- 
surance to  them  that  he  would  discourage  and  oppose  the  use  of  those 


APPENDIX.  543 

Usages,  which  have  so  much  disturbed  the  peace  of  this  distressed 
Church,  and  that  likewise  his  new  associates  should  forbear  and  dis- 
courage the  use  of  them.  3.  That  it  should  be  enacted,  that  for  the 
time  to  come  presbyters  should  not  meet  to  elect  a  Bishop  to  any  vacant 
district  without  the  knowledge  and  allowance  of  the  College  ;  and  that 
he  who  accepted  of  an  election  so  irregularly  made  should  be  deposed. 
Yea,  farther,  the  greatest  part  of  the  College  were  so  desirous  of  peace 
that  they  were  willing  to  ratify  the  uncanonical  consecration  of  Dr 
Rattray,  providing  he  would  give  them  just  and  full  satisfaction  with 
relation  to  the  Usages.  And  upon  the  knowledge  of  Mr  Dunbar's  con- 
secration, they  for  peace  sake  were  also  ready  to  confirm  his  consecra- 
tion upon  the  terms  mentioned,  with  relation  to  Dr  Rattray. 

"  These  most  condescending  and  reasonable  overtures  of  peace  were 
again  and  again,  both  by  letters  and  conferences,  offered  to  Bishop  Mil- 
lar, and  urged  with  the  greatest  earnestness  ;  and  he  was  desired  to  com- 
municate the  same  to  those  to  whom  he  had  now  joined  himself;  but  it 
was  labour  in  vain,  for  his  new  friends,  as  they  were  not  willing  to  give 
just  and  proper  satisfaction  in  the  matter  of  the  Usages,  so  they  offered 
him,  upon  pretence  of  his  being  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  a  high,  paramount, 
and  metropolitical  power,  and  called  him  the  centre  of  unity,  and  what 
not.  And  as  by  this  method  they  first  got  him  into  their  interest,  so 
they  designed  to  keep  him  in  it.  But  they  had  by  it  a  farther  view, 
namely,  that  upon  his  death  some  of  themselves,  or  some  other  in  their 
interest,  might  succeed  him,  and  so  lay  claim  to  that  exorbitant  power.  ] 

"  Here,  then,  lies,  so  far  as  concerns  Bishop  Millar's  particular,  his 
aversion  to  peace  upon  the  terms  offered  by  his  injured  colleagues — . 
that,  though  after  all  the  wrongs  done  to  the  Church,  and  then  by  his 
unaccountable  conduct,  they  were  willing  to  consent  to  his  being  Bishop 
of  Edinburgh,  as  is  already  related  ;  yet  they  were  not  inclined  to  grant 
him  that  exorbitant  power  so  eagerly  contended  for  on  pretence 
thereof. 

"  Now,  how  much  they  are  to  be  justified  in  this,  they  may  safely  ap- 
poal  to  all  impartial  judges,  yea,  even  to  himself ;  for,  1.  lie  knows  that 
the  Bishops  of  this  Church  had  unanimously  agreed,  that  in  her  present 
circumstances  she  should  bo  governod  by  a  College  of  Bishops  of  equal 
authority  and  power.  2.  Ho  knows  that  in  prosecution  of  this  agree- 
ment, Bishop  Fullarton,  though  regularly  elected  to  tho  Diocese  of  Edin- 


544  APPENDIX. 

burgh,  and  confirmed  therein  by  the  consent  of  all  the  other  Bishops, 
was  nevertheless  obliged  to  renounce  all  pretensions  to  a  metropolitical 
power,  and  to  govern  this  Church  with  the  consent  and  joint  authority 
of  his  colleagues  ;  and  Bishop  Millar  may  remember  that  none  of  the 
Bishops  was  more  forward  than  he  in  demanding  this  of  Bishop  Fullar- 
ton.  3.  Bishop  Millar  knows  well,  that  when  Bishop  Fuliarton  was 
reckoned  to  have  made  any  encroachments  contrary  to  his  engagement, 
he  exclaimed  bitterly  against  it,  which  can  be  proved  by  many  ear 
witnesses  of  unquestionable  credit,  and  by  a  remonstrance  under  his 
own  hand.  4.  It  is  not  to  be  thought  strange  that  the  injured  Bishops, 
the  greater  part  of  the  College,  were  not  forward  to  invest  Bishop  Mil- 
lar with  an  excess  of  power,  when  they  considered  that  though  he  was 
not  truly  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  yet,  upon  an  unjust  claim  to  it,  he  had 
done  so  many  injurious  and  unjustifiable  things.  Lastly,  It  justly  cre- 
ated in  them  an  aversion  to  gratify  Bishop  Millar  in  this  matter  when 
they  reflected  that  Bishop  Gadderar,  and  they  of  his  way,  do  so  zeal- 
ously contend  that  this  exorbitant  power  belongs  to  Bishop  Millar,  and 
have,  with  so  warm  a  concern,  advised  him  obstinately  to  claim  and 
own  it ;  for  as  by  this  they  have  already  prevailed  with  him  to  accom- 
plish many  of  their  designs,  so  by  it  they  hope  to  confirm  him  in  their 
interest,  and  to  use  him  as  an  instrument  for  advancing  their  projects. 
"  To  come  to  a  conclusion  of  this  melancholy  story,  Bishop  Millar  had 
so  unaccountably  and  obstinately  rejected  all  the  reasonable  overtures 
of  peace,  which  were  made  to  him  and  his  new  friends  by  the  injured 
Bishops,  the  major  part  of  the  College,  then  they,  with  those  they  had 
lately  assumed  into  their  own  order,  found  themselves  obliged  in  con- 
science, and  from  a  conviction  of  the  duty  they  owed  to  God  and  this 
distressed  Church,  to  cite  Bishop  Millar  to  appear  before  them,  and 
answer  to  a  libel  to  be  exhibited  against  him,  concerning  the  many  un- 
warrantable, uncanonical,  and  dangerous  facts,  he  of  late  hath  been 
guilty  of  ;  then,  after  he  had  contumaciously  refused  to  compear,  as  can 
be  instructed  by  a  letter  under  his  own  hand,  and  after  he  had  been 
thrice  called  to  compear,  and  not  compearing,  the  libel  against  him  was 
read,  and  all  the  facts  therein  contained  were  found  clearly  proven. 
And  then  the  Bishops  in  the  College  assembled  did,  with  great  grief  of 
heart,  pronounce  the  sentence  against  him,  whereby  they  suspended  him 
from  the  exercise  of  any  part  of  the  episcopal  office  within  this  Church, 


APPENDIX.  545 

until  he  submit  himself,  and  give  satisfaction  to  them,  and  accept  of  the 
reasonable  offers  made  him  by  them  for  preserving  the  peace  and  unity 
of  this  Church.  And  they  appointed  this  their  sentence  to  be  intimated 
to  him,  and  to  the  presbyters  of  the  Diocese  of  Edinburgh,  that  none 
might  pretend  ignorance  ;  which  was  accordingly  done. 

"  This  is  a  true  and  short  account  of  what  is  mentioned  at  the  head  of 
this  paper,  from  which  all  who  consider  it  without  prejudice  will  clearly 
see  to  whom  the  beginning  and  progress  of  our  woful  divisions  are  to  be 
ascribed,  and  who  are  to  be  blamed  for  the  continuance  of  them  ;  and 
that  the  injured  Bishops,  and  those  they  have  lately  consecrated,  stand 
clear  of  the  schism  which  is  now  commenced.  Thus  we  hope  that  all 
impartial  judges  in  this  matter  will  absolve  us  from  any  accession  to  the 
mentioned  divisions  ;  and  we  most  earnestly  beseech  all  of  the  Episco- 
pal communion  to  put  up  their  ardent  prayers  to  Almighty  C4od,  that  of 
his  great  mercy  he  may  pity  the  sad  state  of  this  Church,  heal  her  divi- 
sions, and  bestow  on  all  her  members  the  spirit  of  charity,  unity,  and 
concord  ;  and  that  he  may  grant  to  us  all,  of  both  sides,  most  serious 
repentance  for  our  unprofitableness  under  the  Gospel,  for  which  in  his 
righteous  judgment  he  has  thought  it  fit  to  give  way  to  our  being  chas- 
tised with  this  great  calamity ;  and  may  God  give  unto  all  those  who 
have  contributed  to  the  disquiet  of  this  Church  a  sight  and  sense  of 
their  error,  and  may  they  return  to  a  better  mind  ;  and  then  we  with 
the  greatest  joy  shall  embrace  them  as  brethren." 

[The  result  of  this  denunciation  of  Bishop  Millar  in  particular,  and 
of  the  disputes  about  the  Usages,  is  given  in  the  preceding  narrative. 
The  ideas  which  the  College  Party  formed  of  the  Bishop  grasping  at 
what  the  writer  calls  "  metropolitical  power"  were  completely  fallacious 
They  were  so  wedded  to  their  system  of  governing  the  Church  by  a  Col- 
lego  of  Bishops,  that  they  could  seo  nothing  in  Diocesan  Episcopacv  but 
ecclesiastical  innovation.  The  statements  now  given  intimate  the  per- 
SODal  animosities  which  existed  between  the  College  ami  Diocesan  Par 
ties,  which  usually  evaporated  in  mutual  recriminations  of  unjust  elec- 
tion to  their  dioceses,  uncanonienl  practices,  ami  such  like,  until  the 
dispute  was  happily  adjusted,  ami  the  College  Party  yielded  the  discus- 
sion The  interest  which  the  laity  took  in  the  strife  about  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Church  and  the  Usages  does  not  appear.     It  is  probable 

2  m 


546  APPENDIX. 

that  they  generally  thought  these  to  be  matters  with  which  they  had  no 
right  to  interfere.] 


No.  IV. 

THE  CODE    OF  CANONS  OF  THE   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH 

IN  SCOTLAND, 

AS  REVISED,  AMENDED,  AND  ENACTED,  BY  AN  ECCLESIASTICAL  SYNOD,  HELD 
FOR  THAT  PURPOSE,  AT  EDINBURGH,  ON  THE  29TH  DAY  OF  AUGUST,  AND 
CONTINUED    BY  ADJOURNMENT  TILL    THE    6TH  OF    SEPTEMBER,    INCLUSIVE, 

1838. 

Religion,  implying  the  obligation  which  we  lie  under  to  the  service 
of  God,  must  be  of  divine  institution  ;  because  God  alone  can  tell  how 
He  will  be  worshipped  and  served  by  his  creatures.  Having  revealed 
his  will  for  this  purpose,  He  has  also  from  the  beginning  constituted 
and  set  apart  certain  persons  to  act  as  his  more  immediate  servants  or 
officers,  and  in  that  official  relation  to  assist  mankind  in  the  performance 
of  their  religious  duties.  That  this  was  the  case  under  the  Patriarchal 
and  Mosaic  institutions,  is  evident  from  the  history  of  both  contained 
in  the  Old  Testament ;  and  that  the  case  is  the  same  under  the  dispen- 
sation of  the  Gospel,  is  no  less  manifest  from  the  account  which  the 
New  Testament  gives  of  the  establishment  of  the  Christian  Church.  It 
is  there  recorded  for  our  instruction,  that  our  blessed  Saviour,  the  au- 
thor and  finisher  of  our  faith,  and  the  head  over  all  things  to  His  Church, 
when  he  had  "  called  his  disciples  unto  him,  chose  twelve  of  them ;" 
whom  He  was  pleased  to  distinguish  by  the  title  of  "  Apostles,"  or  per- 
sons sent  with  a  particular  commission  to  preach  the  Gospel ;  and  with 
power  to  work  miracles  for  evincing  the  authority  with  which  they  were 
vested.  The  appointment  afterwards  of  other  seventy  disciples  appears 
to  have  been  of  a  temporary  nature,  to  prepare  for  their  Lord's  recep- 
tion in  "  every  city  or  place"  which  He  was  to  bless  with  His  presence. 
After  His  resurrection  from  the  dead,  He  enlarged  the  commission  given 
to  His  apostles,  extending  the  object  of  it  to  the  conversion  of  "  all  na- 


APPENDIX.  547 

tions,"  making  them  His  disciples,  and  bringing  them  under  His  tuition 
and  discipline,  bj  baptizing  them  after  the  form  and  order  of  His  ap> 
pointment.  Hence  it  is  evident,  that  as  long  as  there  are  nations  or 
people  upon  earth  to  be  thus  converted,  disciplined,  and  baptized,  so 
long  must  there  be  persons  duly  authorised  for  that  purpose  ;  and  whose 
authority  can  flow  down  in  no  other  channel  than  that  which  leads  up 
to  the  only  source  from  which  it  can  be  derived — the  command  issued 
by  Him  to  whom  all  power  was  given,  both  in  heaven  and  on  earth  ;  and 
who,  after  declaring  himself  invested  with  this  universal  sovereignty, 
immediately  added,  as  a  consequence  of  it,  this  extensive  commission 
to  his  Apostles — "  Go  ye,  therefore,  make  disciples  to  me  of  all  nations, 
baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost ;  and  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have 
commanded  you  :  and,  lo  !  I  am  with  you  always" — in  the  act  of  hand- 
ing down  this  commission — "  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." — This 
is  the  fundamental  charter,  by  which  the  Church  of  Christ  holds  its  con- 
tinuance in  the  world,  and  will  do  so  as  long  as  the  world  itself  con- 
tinues. The  preservation  of  its  spiritual  powers,  in  the  way  of  Episco- 
pal succession,  has  ever  marked  the  "  continuance"  of  Christians  after 
the  example  of  the  early  converts,  "  in  the  Apostles'  doctrine  and  fel- 
lowship ;  "  and  from  the  constant  attention  shown  to  this  ecclesiastical 
arrangement  in  the  apostolic  age,  we  may  justly  infer,  that  it  was  then 
considered  as  one  of  those  things  which  our  Lord's  Apostles  were  com- 
manded to  teach  the  nations  to  "  observe,"  to  watch  over  and  preserve, 
in  its  pure  and  original  form.  Such  is  the  form,  in  which  has  been  re- 
gularly handed  down  the  ecclesiastical  authority  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  Scotland  ;  a  Church  in  itself  completely  constituted  and  organized, 
in  respect  of  spiritual  power  and  sacred  ministrations  by  its  own  Bishops, 
Priests,  and  Deacons.  In  this  character,  being  in  full  communion  witli 
the  United  Church  of  England  and  Ireland,  and  adopting  as  the  stand- 
ard of  her  faith  the  Thirty-Nino  Articles  of  Religion,  as  received  in  that 
Church,  she  claims  the  authority  which,  according  to  the  thirty-fourth 
of  those  Articles,  belongs  to  "  every  particular  or  national  Church,  to 
ordain,  change,  or  abolish  ceremonies  or  rites  of  the  Church  ordained 
only  by  man's  authority,  so  that  all  things  be  done  to  edifying." 

The  doctrine  of  the  Church,  at  founded  on  the  authority  of  the  Scrip- 
ture, being  fixed  and  immutable,  ought  to  be  uniformly  received  and  ad- 


548  APPENDIX. 

hered  to,  at  all  times  and  in  all  places.  The  same  is  to  be  said  of  its 
government,  in  all  those  essential  parts  of  its  constitution  which  were 
prescribed  by  its  adorable  Head.  But  in  the  discipline,  which  may  be 
adopted  for  furthering  the  purposes  of  ecclesiastical  government,  regu- 
lating the  solemnities  of  public  worship,  as  to  time,  place,  and  form,  and 
restraining  and  rectifying  the  evils  occasioned  by  human  depravity,  this 
character  of  immutability  is  not  to  be  looked  for.  The  discipline  of  the 
Church  is  to  be  determined  by  Christian  wisdom,  prudence,  and  charity  ; 
and  when  any  particular  Church  has  drawn  up  a  body  of  Canons  for  its 
own  use,  regard  has  always  been  had  to  its  peculiar  situation  at  the 
time  when  its  discipline  was  "thus  regulated.  In  one  country,  a  pure 
apostolic  Church  is  found  to  be  legally  established,  amply  endowed,  and 
closely  incorporated  with  the  State  ;  while  in  another,  forming  a  part 
of  the  same  empire,  it  is  only  tolerated  by  the  State  ;  and  as  to  all 
matters  of  spiritual  concern,  derives  no  support  from  the  civil  govern- 
ment. 

Such  is  precisely  the  difference  of  situation  between  the  established 
Church  of  England  and  Ireland,  and  the  unestablished,  the  merely 
tolerated  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland.  In  things  of  a  purely  ecclesi- 
astical nature,  embracing  the  doctrine  and  government  of  the  Church, 
the  faith  peculiar  to  Christianity,  and  the  mode  of  transmitting  an  apo- 
stolic Episcopacy — in  these  respects  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church  is 
the  same  in  every  part  of  the  British  empire.  That  system  of  religious 
faith  and  ecclesiastical  order  by  which  it  is  distinguished  in  every  dis- 
trict of  England  and  Ireland,  is  also  its  mark  of  distinction  to  the  re- 
motest corner  of  Scotland  ;  and  although  in  this  country  it  is  wholly 
unconnected  with  the  State  in  the  exercise  of  its  spiritual  authority,  yet 
does  it  still  depend,  under  God,  on  the  civil  power  for  peace  and  pro- 
tection, in  the  enjoyment  of  all  its  rights  and  privileges,  as  a  society 
purely  spiritual,  and  constituted  for  the  purpose  of  affording  the  means 
of  grace  and  salvation  to  the  members  of  Christ's  mystical  body. 

Viewing  it  in  this  light,  the  clergy  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Scot- 
land declare,  in  the  most  sincere  and  unequivocal  manner,  that  the  ec- 
clesiastical commission  handed  down  to  them  has  no  relation  to  such 
secular  powers  and  privileges  as  are  peculiar  to  a  national  establishment ; 
nor  does  it  in  the  least  interfere  with  the  rights  of  the  temporal  state, 
or  the  jurisdiction  of  the  supreme  civil  magistrate.     On  the  contrary, 


APPENDIX.  549 

the  clergy  of  this  church,  of  every  rank  and  order,  feel  no  hesitation  in 
asserting  and  maintaining  that  the  King's  Majesty,  to  whom  they  sin 
cerely  promise  to  bear  true  allegiance,  is  the  only  "  supreme  governor 
within  his  dominions,  whose  prerogative  it  is  to  rule  all  estates  and  de- 
grees committed  to  his  charge  by  God  ;  and  to  restrain,  with  the  civil 
sword,  the  stubborn  and  evil-doers  of  every  denomination,  clergymen 
as  well  as  laymen.  They  further  declare,  that  no  foreign  prince,  per- 
son, prelate,  state,  or  potentate,  hath,  or  ought  to  have,  any  jurisdiction, 
power,  superiority,  pre-eminence,  or  authority,  ecclesiastical  or  spiri- 
tual, within  this  realm ;  and  they  do,  from  their  hearts,  abhor,  detest, 
and  abjure,  as  impious  and  heretical,  that  damnable  doctrine  and  posi- 
tion, that  princes  excommunicated  or  deprived  by  the  Pope,  or  any 
authority  of  the  See  of  Rome,  may  be  deposed  or  murdered  by  their 
subjects,  or  any  other  whatsoever." 

Such  are  the  solemn  acknowledgments  of  the  King's  Sovereignty 
required  from  candidates  for  holy  orders  in  the  United  Church  of  Eng- 
land and  Ireland.  A  similar  obligation,  as  extended  to  all  ecclesiastical 
persons,  was  enforced  in  a  Code  of  Canons  intended  for  the  Established 
Church  of  Scotland  in  the  reign  of  Charles  the  First.  But  the  attempt 
to  introduce  a  proper  system  of  discipline,  conjoined  to  the  uniform  use 
of  a  Liturgy,  was  completely  frustrated  by  the  events  of  that  disastrous 
period  ;  and  the  troublesome  state  of  affairs,  in  the  two  succeeding 
reigns,  was  equally  unfavourable  to  the  establishment  of  order  and  unity 
in  the  Church.  The  Revolution  in  1G88  set  aside  the  legally  established 
Episcopacy  of  Scotland  ;  and  for  several  years  after  the  shock  Which 
our  Church  received  by  the  termination  of  that  national  struggle,  the 
Bishops  had  enough  to  do  in  keeping  up  a  pure  Episcopal  succession, 
till  it  should  bo  seen  what,  in  the  course  of  Providence,  might  be  further 
effected  towards  the  preservation,  though  not  of  an  established,  yet  of  a 
purely  primitive  Episcopal  Church,  in  this  part  of  the  kingdom.  For 
this  purpose,  a  few  Canons  were  drawn  up,  and  sanctioned  by  the 
Bishops,  in  the  year  1743,  which,  though  very  well  calculated  to  answer 

the  purposes  intruded  by  them,  while   the  Church  was   under  legal  i 

strain!  and  threatened  with  persecution,  have  yel  left  room  for  consider- 
able enlargement,  and  require  to  have  embodied  with  them,  I  r  added 
to  them,  serera]  regulation!  suited  to  the  now  happily  tolerated  and 
protected  state  of  the  Episcopal  church  in  this  country, 


550  APPENDIX. 

In  accomplishing  this  good  work,  some  aid  might  be  expected  from 
the  Canons  appointed  for  the  Church  of  England  in  the  year  1603,  for 
the  Church  of  Ireland  in  1634,  and  for  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  1636. 
For  the  purpose  of  collecting  from  these,  and  other  sources,  a  System  of 
Ecclesiastical  Discipline  proper  for  the  Church  under  their  Episcopal 
charge,  the  Protestant  Bishops  in  Scotland  came  to  the  resolution  of 
holding  a  General  Ecclesiastical  Synod  ;  and  being  duly  convocatedby 
the  Primus,  did  accordingly  meet  at  Aberdeen,  on  Wednesday  the  19th 
day  of  June  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1811,  together  with  the  Deans  of 
their  several  dioceses,  and  a  representative  of  the  clergy  from  each  dio- 
cese containing  more  than  four  presbyters,  when  a  Code  of  Canons  for 
preserving  and  regulating  order  and  discipline  in  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  in  Scotland  was  adopted  and  sanctioned.  A  second  Ge- 
neral Synod  met  at  Laurencekirk,  in  the  county  of  Kincardine,  on 
Wednesday  the  18th  day  of  June  1828,  when  the  Canons  of  181 1  were  re- 
vised and  altered.  A  third  was  held  in  Edinburgh  on  Wednesday  17th 
of  June  1829,  when  some  enactments  in  the  sixteenth  Canon  of  1828 
were  repealed.  A  very  general  desire  being  expressed  throughout  the 
Church,  especially  in  the  year  1837,  that  a  further  revision  of  the  whole 
Code  should  be  made,  another  General  Synod  was  in  consequence  duly 
summoned,  and  met  accordingly  in  Edinburgh  on  Wednesday  the  29th 
August  1838,  and  being  then  and  there  duly  and  solemnly  constituted 
with  prayer,  after  full  deliberation  and  discussion  during  several  suc- 
cessive days,  the  Synod  so  assembled  and  constituted  did,  and  hereby 
do,  adopt  and  sanction  the  following  revised  and  amended  Code  of 
Canons,  and  declare  them  to  be  in  future  the  stated  rules  and  regulations 
for  preserving  order  and  discipline  in  the  said  Church  in  Scotland.  In 
testimony  whereof,  we,  the  members  of  the  said  Synod,  have  hereunto 
annexed  our  names  and  designations  in  the  register-book  of  the  Epis- 
copal College,  and  we  have,  moreover,  entrusted  to  a  committee  in  Edin- 
burgh the  duty  of  causing  the  revised  and  amended  Canons  now  ap- 
proved and  sanctioned  to  be  faithfully  inserted  in  the  foresaid  register, 
and  together  with  this  introduction,  to  be  carefully  printed  for  the  ge- 
neral use  of  the  Church,  For  these  purposes,  an  authentic  copy,  veri- 
fied by  the  Primus,  the  clerk  of  the  Episcopal  College,  and  by  the  pro- 
locutor of  the  second  chamber,  in  the  presence  of  the  Synod,  has  been 
given  to  the  Committee,  which  they  are  required  to  preserve  when 


APPENDIX.  551 

these  purposes  are  attained,  along  with  the  register-book  aforesaid ; 
committing  the  custody  thereof  to  the  clerk  of  the  Episcopal  College, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  preserve  the  said  register,  and  the  general  records  of 
the  Church. 


CANON  I. 

For  preserving  the  Episcopal  Succession. 

The  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland,  as  a  branch  of  the  Holy  Catholic 
and  Apostolic  Church  of  Christ,  inviolably  retaining  in  the  sacred  mi- 
nistry the  three  orders  of  Bishops,  Priests,  and  Deacons,  as  of  divine 
institution,  requires,  according  to  the  apostolic  Canon,  that  a  Bishop  be 
ordained  by  two  or  three  Bishops  ;  not  fewer  than  three  in  all  ordinary 
cases  ;  and  Priests  and  Deacons  by  one  Bishop  ;  the  right  of  ordination 
belonging  to  the  order  of  Bishops  only.  And  it  is  hereby  decreed,  that 
no  person  shall  be  consecrated  a  Bishop  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in 
Scotland  before  he  hath  completed  the  thirtieth  year  of  his  age  ;  nor 
without  the  consent  and  approbation  of  the.  majority  of  the  Bishops  ; 
and  that  if  any  Bishop  or  any  Bishops,  not  being  a  majority,  shall  pre- 
sume without  such  consent  to  consecrate  any  person  to  that  office,  all 
the  parties  concerned  shall  be  held  schismatics. 

CANON  II. 

Regulating  the  Election  and  Office  of  the  Primus. 

Before  the  distinction  of  Archbishop  was  introduced  into  Scotland, 
one  of  the  Bishops  had  a  precedency  under  the  title  of  Primus  Scotorum 
Episcopus  ;  and  the  Episcopal  College  having  for  a  century  past  adopt- 
ed the  old  form,  it  is  hereby  decreed  that  the  Bishops  shall,  without  re- 
spect either  to  seniority  of  consecration  or  precedency  of  diocese,  choose 
a  Primus,  by  a  majority  of  voices,  who  shall  have  no  other  privilege 
among  the  Bishops  but  the  right  of  convocating  and  presiding  ;  and 
that  expressly  under  the  following  restrictions  : — 1st,  That  he  shall  be 
obliged  to  notify  to  the  other  Bishops  the  reasons  of  his  calling  a  meet- 


»52  APPENDIX. 

ing,  as  well  as  the  time  and  place  for  holding  it ;  and  if  the  majority 
shall  dissent,  as  judging  either  the  reasons  insufficient,  or  the  time  or 
place  improper,  the  proposal  of  such  meeting  shall  be  either  wholly  set 
aside,  or  the  time  or  place  altered,  as  shall  seem  to  them  most  expedient. 
2dly,  That  if  the  Primus  shall  at  any  time  refuse  to  call  a  meeting  when 
desired  by  a  majority  of  the  other  Bishops  to  do  so  for  some  specified 
purpose,  or  if  he  shall  refuse  to  consecrate  or  sanction  the  consecration 
of  a  priest,  canonically  elected  to  a  vacant  diocese,  when  that  election 
shall  have  been  confirmed  by  a  majority  of  the  Bishops,  they  shall,  in 
such  cases,  have  authority  to  meet  and  act  without  him.  3dly,  That 
the  Primus  thus  chosen  by  the  majority  is  to  continue  in  that  office  only 
during  their  pleasure.  That  the  Church  may  suffer  as  little  inconve- 
nience as  possible,  by  the  death  or  resignation  of  the  Primus,  the  senior 
Bishop  shall  instantly  succeed  to  his  powers,  until  a  majority  of  the 
Bishops  shall  appoint  one  to  the  office  by  a  formal  deed  of  election. 

CANOX  III. 

For  providing  vacant  Dioceses  with  duly  elected  Bishops,  and  regulating 
the  Conduct  of  the  Presbyters  in  such  Dioceses. 

Every  Bishop  is  hereby  required  to  appoint  one  of  the  presbyters  of 
his  diocese  to  act  under  him  as  Dean,  who,  in  the  absence  of  the  Bishop, 
shall  preside  in  all  diocesan  Synods,  and  the  Dean  thus  canonically  ap- 
pointed shall,  upon  the  demise  or  translation  of  any  Bishop,  notify  the 
same  to  the  Primus,,  who,  being  empowered  by  his  colleagues,  shall 
thereupon  issue  a  mandate  to  the  presbyters  of  the  vacant  diocese,  re- 
quiring them  to  proceed  to  the  election  of  a  successor.  Should  they 
make  choice  of  a  person  already  invested  with  the  Episcopal  character, 
the  Bishop  so  elected  shall  have  no  jurisdiction  over  that  diocese,  un- 
less his  election  be  ratified  by  the  majority  of  the  Episcopal  College 
transferring  to  him,  by  a  formal  deed,  the  superintendence  of  the  dio- 
cese. But  if  the  presbyters  of  the  vacant  diocese  shall  elect  a  presby- 
ter to  be  their  future  diocesan,  of  whose  fitness  for  that  office  the  Bishops 
shall  declare  they  have  sufficient  reason  not  to  be  satisfied,  in  that  case 
the  presbyters  shall  be  required  to  proceed  to  a  new  election. 

During  the  vacancy  of  any  diocese,  if  any  case  relating  to  discipline 
shall  occur  for  which  there  is  no  particular  provision  made  by  the  Ca- 


APPENDIX.  553 

nons  of  this  Church,  the  presbyters  shall  have  recourse  to  the  Primus, 
who,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  his  colleagues,  shall  determine  the 
same,  and  who  shall  also  provide  for  the  performance  of  any  Episcopal 
offices  that  may  be  required  among  them. 

All  elections  of  Bishops  shall  be  notified  to  the  Primus,  according  to 
the  form  prescribed. 


CANON  IV. 

For  the  Appointment  of  Coadjutor- Bishops. 

It  shall  be  lawful  for  a  Bishop,  whose  age  or  infirmities  require  it,  of 
which  the  majority  of  the  College  of  Bishops  shall  be  the  judges,  to  have 
a  coadjutor  or  assistant,  provided  the  said  Bishop  consent  that  the  elec- 
tion of  such  coadjutor  by  the  clergy  of  the  diocese  shall  be  free,  unin- 
fluenced, and  unbiassed,  and  provided  the  person  so  elected  shall  succeed 
on  the  death  or  resignation  of  the  diocesan.  Such  assistant-bishop, 
during  the  life  of  his  principal,  shall  be  entitled  to  attend  episcopal  and 
general  synods  of  the  Church,  to  give  his  opinion  and  advice  on  any 
matter  under  consideration,  but  to  have  no  vote  except  in  the  absence 
of  the  Diocesan  Bishop. 

CANON  V. 

Respecting  the  Jurisdiction  of  the  Bishops  in  a  Particular  Case. 

If  it  shall  happen  that  a  Bishop  has  his  Chapel  and  residence  within 
the  diocese  of  another  Bishop,  a  practice  to  be  justified  only  by  the  cir- 
cumstances of  this  Church,  then  shall  his  congregation,  as  well  as  any 
presbyter  or  deacon  that  may  be  employed  as  his  assistant,  be  exempted 
from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Bishop  in  whoso  Dioceso  they  are  locally 
situated,  the  latter  being  required  to  signify,  by  a  subscribed  deed,  his 
consent  to  this  arrangement.  But  such  assistant  shall  have  no  vote  in 
cither  diocese.  Hut  whereas  the  residence  of  a  Bishop  within  the  dio- 
06fe  appears  to  be  expedient  for  the  good  of  the  Church,  it  is  hereby 
decreed  that  every  Bishop  hereafter  collated  to  the  charge  of  a  dioc< 
shall  reside  within  the  bounds  of  the  same,  wherever  that  is  found  prac- 
ticable. 


554  APPENDIX. 

CANON  VI. 

Enjoining  the  Studies  and  Qualifications  of  Candidates  for  Holy  Orders, 

In  the  Canons  intended  for  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  sanctioned 
by  royal  authority  in  the  year  1635,  the  second  chapter,  entitled,  "  Of 
Presbyters  and  Deacons,  their  Nomination,  Ordination,  Function,  and 
Charge,''  is  thus  very  properly  introduced  : ."  Forasmuch  as  the  weight 
of  the  ministerial  calling  doth  require  such  a  measure  of  sufficiency  as 
human  weakness  can  attain  unto,  and  is  often  discredited  by  the  igno- 
rance, insufficiency,  and  scandalous  conversation  of  many  who  under- 
take the  same  ;  it  is  ordained,  that  no  person  hereafter  shall  be  admit- 
ted to  that  holy  function  who  hath  not  been  bred  in  some  University  or 
College,  and  hath  taken  some  degree  there,  and  who  shall  verify  the 
same  by  the  subscriptions  and  seals  of  the  University  or  College  where 
he  received  the  degree  of  learning."  In  conformity  with  the  spirit  of 
this  extract,  it  is  hereby  decreed  that  no  person  be  received  as  a  candi- 
date for  holy  orders  in  this  Church  who  shall  not  have  first  gone  through 
a  regular  academical  course  in  some  University  or  College.  It  is,  more- 
over, expressly  ordered,  that  no  person  shall  be  admitted  into  the  holy 
order  of  Deacons  in  this  Church,  until  he  shall  have  been  properly  exa- 
mined as  to  his  literature  by  two  or  more  presbyters  appointed  for  that 
purpose  by  the  Bishop  who  is  to  ordain  him,  and  whom,  as  his  exami- 
ners, he  must  satisfy  of  his  being  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  whole 
of  the  New  Testament  in  the  original  Greek,  and  at  whose  bidding  he 
must  compose  a  short  treatise  in  Latin  on  some  article  of  faith,  as  also 
a  discourse  in  English  on  any  text  of  Scripture  which  they  shall  pre- 
scribe ;  and  answer  such  questions  connected  with  theology  and  eccle- 
siastical history  as  they  shall  think  proper  to  put  to  him  ;  and  before 
his  admission  to  examination,  the  Bishop  must,  by  sufficient  letters 
testimonial,  and  by  an  attestation,  that  the  form  usually  called  Si  Quis 
has  been  publicly  read,  be  satisfied  of  his  good  life  and  conversation, 
as  well  as  his  good  learning.  It  is  also  required  that  he  produce  a  cer- 
tificate of  his  having  attended  at  least  one  course  of  the  lectures  of  the 
Pantonian  Professor  of  Theology,  and  of  our  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical 
History  in  Edinburgh  ;  unless  peculiar  circumstances  in  his  case  may 
have  rendered  such  attendance  impracticable,  of  which  the  ordainin 


APPENDIX.  555 

Bishop  is  to  be  the  sole  judge.  And  no  one  shall  be  promoted  to  the 
order  of  Priest  until  he  shall  have  passed  a  still  more  full  and  complete 
satisfaction. 

CANON  VII. 

Respecting  the  Age,  the  Prudence,  the  Place  or  Charge  of  Persons  to  be 
Ordained  ;  and  in  what  Case  Letters  Dimissory  are  necessary. 

No  Bishop  of  this  Church  shall,  in  ordinary  cases,  admit  any  person 
to  the  office  of  deacon,  until  he  shall  have  attained  the  age  of  twenty- 
three  years  ;  and  in  no  case  to  the  order  of  priests,  until  he  shall  have 
attained  the  full  age  of  twenty-four  ;  and  in  both  cases  a  bona  fide  title 
shall  be  required  :  But  whereas  the  necessities  of  this  Church,  in  some 
cases,  may  render  it  inconvenient  to  defer  ordination  till  the  person  to 
be  ordained  hath  fully  attained  what  hath  been  usually  called  the  cano- 
nical age  ;  therefore,  in  any  such  case,  a  Bishop  may  admit  a  candidate 
to  the  order  of  deacons  if  duly  recommended  when  he  hath  completed 
his  twenty -first  year  ;  and  after  serving  in  that  capacity,  he  may  be  pro- 
moted to  the  order  of  the  priesthood,  if  the  Bishop  be  satisfied,  that, 
during  his  service  as  a  deacon,  he  hath  conducted  himself  in  a  prudent 
and  becoming  manner  ;  hath  attained  the  full  canonical  age  of  twenty- 
four  ;  and  hath  also  a  particular  place  or  charge  assigned  to  him,  icherein 
he  may  use  or  exercise  his  function  ;  without  which  relation  to  a  parti- 
cular place  or  congregation,  no  person  shall  be  advanced  to  the  order  of 
priesthood  in  this  Church  ;  neither  shall  any  of  the  Bishops  admit  any 
person  into  holy  orders  whose  title  is  not  within  his  own  diocese,  unless 
he  shall  bring  letters  dimissory  from  the  Bishop  of  the  diocese  wherein 
his  charge  is  placed. 

CANON  VIII. 

Appointing  the  Solemn  Performance  of  the  Office  of  Ordination,  and  the 
Form  to  be  used  in  Making,  Ordaining,  and  Consecrating,  Bishops, 
Priests,  and  Deacons. 

The  welfare  of  the  Church  being  most  intimately  connected  with  the 
ordination  and  function  of  the  clergy,  the  ancient  fathers,  led  by  the 
example  of  the  holy  A.postles,  appointed  prayers  and  fasti  to  be  used  for 
imploring  the  Divine  blessing  and  direction  in  setting  apart  for  their 


556  APPENDIX. 

solemn  office  those  who  were  "  ordained  for  men  in  things  pertaining 
to  God."  The  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland,  therefore,  sincerely  vene- 
rating the  appointment  of  the  Ember  Weeks,  hereby  requires  that  all 
her  ordinations  shall  be  performed  at  those  seasons,  unless,  for  reasons 
of  necessity,  the  Bishop  shall  appoint  another  time  ;  and  also  that  all 
her  ordinations  be  performed  with  public  prayer,  and  imposition  of 
hands,  and  (as  hath  been  the  practice  of  the  Church  ever  since  the  Re- 
storation of  King  Charles  II.)  according  to  the  "  form  and  manner  of 
making,  ordaining,  and  consecrating,  of  Bishops,  Priests,  and  Deacons," 
used  in  the  united  Church  of  England  and  Ireland,  adopting  only  a  few 
necessary  verbal  alterations,  such  as  saying  "  this  Church,"  instead  of 
"  this  realm,"  or  "this  Church  of  England." 

CANON  IX. 

Requiring  from  Persons  to  be  Ordained  Subscription  to  the  Thirty-Nine 
Articles  of  Religion,  and  certain  Oaths  to  be  taken  by  them. 

Whereas  by  the  act  of  the  thirty-second  of  George  III.,  entitled, 
"An  Act  for  granting  relief  to  pastors,  ministers,  and  lay  persons  of 
the  Episcopal  Communion  in  Scotland,"  it  is  enacted,  that  every  such 
pastor  or  minister  shall  subscribe  a  declaration  of  his  assent  to  the 
Thirty-Nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England :  Therefore,  no  person 
shall  hereafter  be  received  into  the  ministry  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in 
Scotland  until  he  hath  first  subscribed,  willingly  and  ex  animo,  to  the 
book  of  articles  of  religion,  agreed  upon  by  the  Archbishops  and  Bishops 
of  both  provinces  of  the  realm  of  England,  and  the  whole  clergy  thereof, 
in  the  convocation  holden  at  London  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thou- 
sand five  hundred  and  sixty-two,  and  hath  acknowledged  all  and  every 
the  articles  therein  contained,  being  in  number  thirty-nine,  besides  the 
ratification,  to  be  agreeable  to  the  Word  of  God.  And,  forasmuch  as 
the  Bishops  of  this  Church  have  no  authority  to  administer  the  oaths 
which  are  required  by  law,  at  the  ordinations  of  deacons  and  priests, 
every  Bishop  shall,  at  the  ordination  of  any  candidate  for  the  ministry, 
obtain  the  presence  of  a  magistrate  at  the  time  of  ordination,  for  the 
purpose  of  administering  the  oaths  at  the  regular  period  of  the  service  ; 
but  if  this  cannot  be  done,  he  is  to  require  from  such  candidate  a  certi- 
ficate from  the  magistrate  before  whom  he  shall  have  taken  the  said 


APPENDIX.  557 

oaths  ;  and  together  with  these  oaths,  every  person  at  his  ordination 
shall  promise  to  render  due  obedience  to  the  Canons  of  this  Church, 
and  to  show  in  all  things  an  earnest  desire  to  promote  the  peace,  unity, 
and  order  of  that  part  of  the  flock  of  Christ  in  which  he  shall  be  autho- 
rised to  exercise  his  ministry. 

CANON  X. 

Appointing  the  Conditions,  and  Mode  of  Institution  to  a  Pastoral  Charge. 

Whereas  it  has  never  been  the  practice  of  this  Church,  nor  the  wish 
of  her  Bishops,  to  interfere,  directly  or  indirectly,  with  the  funds  or 
temporalities  of  her  congregations  ;  it  is,  therefore,  fully  acknowledged, 
that  the  right  of  presentation  to  any  chapel,  vacant  within  her  pale,  is 
vested  in  those  who  are  appointed  to  manage  its  affairs,  whether  known 
by  the  title  of  trustees,  church-wardens,  vestry-men,  managers,  pro- 
prietors, or  directors,  and  who,  in  virtue  of  their  office,  procure  the 
means  of  the  ministers'  support ;  yet,  to  preserve  the  ancient  and  regu- 
lar discipline  of  an  Episcopal  Community,  it  is  hereby  enacted,  that  no 
presbyter  shall  take  upon  himself  the  pastoral  charge  of  any  congrega- 
tion to  which  he  may  be  presented,  before  the  deed  of  presentation  be 
duly  accepted  by  the  Bishop  :  And  no  Bishop  shall  institute  to  a  pasto- 
ral charge  in  his  diocese  any  clergyman,  without  requiring  him  to  pro- 
duce letters  of  orders  from  some  Bishop  of  this  Church,  or  of  one  of  the 
Churches  enumerated  in  Canon  XV.,  together  with  the  proper  testimo- 
nials required  for  institution,  countersigned  by  the  Bishop  of  the  dio- 
cese. Likewise,  it  is  required  that  he  shall  present  a  certificate,  that 
he  has  gone  through  a  regular  course  of  education  in  some  College  or 
University,  as  is  required  of  our  own  native  students  by  Canon  VI. 
And  if  the  candidate  for  institution  shall  have  come  from  any  one  of  these 
Churches,  and  have  resided  in  Scotland  for  any  length  of  time,  he  must 
present  not  only  the  proper  testimonials  from  his  mother  church,  but 
likewise  a  similar  testimonial  from  two  or  more  Episcopal  clergymen, 
to  whom  he  has  been  known  during  the  period  of  his  residence  in  Scot- 
land, as  well  as  a  solemn  promise  of  obedience  to  the  Canons  of  this 
Church,  as  enjoined  by  Canon  IX.,  in  which  ease  no  Bishop  shall  re- 
fuse to  -rant  institution  to  a  person  so  presented.  But  if  no  election 
shall  be  made  within  six  calendar  months  after  a  vacancy  hath  taken 


558  APPENDIX. 

place,  the'right  of  nomination  of  a  pastor  shall  then  elapse  to  the  Bishop 
of  the  diocese,  whose  appointment  shall  be  binding  on  all  the  members 
of  the  congregation. 

CANON  XL 

Requiring  Presbyters  to  make  Personal  Residence  in  the  place  where  their 
Pastoral  Charge  lies,  and  not  to  be  Absent  but  for  a  limited  time. 

In  Chapter  III.  of  the  Scottish  Canons  above  mentioned,  entitled,  "  Of 
Residence  and  Preaching,"  it  is  justly  observed,  that  "  the  many  incon- 
veniences which  result  from  the  non-residence  of  ministers,  require 
that  some  provision  be  made  thereanent :"  Therefore,  it  is  hereby  de- 
creed, that  every  Presbyter  having  a  pastoral  charge  in  this  Church 
shall  reside  in  some  place  of  easy  and  convenient  access  to  the  members 
of  his  congregation,  and  shall  not  at  any  time  leave  or  absent  himself 
from  his  charge  (unless  for  some  very  urgent  cause),  without  providing 
a  substitute,  in  terms  of  Canon  XV.,  and  also  obtaining  the  permission 
of  the  Bishop. 

CANON  XII. 

Requiring  Soberness  of  Conversation  and  Decency  of  Apparel  in  Ecclesi- 
astical Persons,  as  well  as  a  proper  attention  to  the  Good  Order  of 
their  Families. 

In  the  Canons  of  the  United  Church  of  England  and  Ireland,  as  well  as 
in  those  intended  for  the  Church  of  Scotland,  it  is  expressly  ordered, 
that  "  no  ecclesiastical  persons  shall  at  any  time,  other  than  for  their 
honest  necessities,  resort  to  any  taverns  or  alehouses,  neither  shall  they 
give  themselves  to  any  base  or  servile  labour  ;  or  to  drinking  or  riot, 
spending  their  time  idly  by  day  or  by  night,  playing  at  dice,  cards,  or 
tables,  or  any  other  unlawful  games  unbecoming  their  sacred  function  ; 
but  at  all  times  convenient  they  shall  hear  or  read  somewhat  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  or  shall  occupy  themselves  with  some  other  honest 
study  or  exercise,  always  doing  the  things  which  appertain  to  honesty, 
and  endeavouring  to  profit  the  Church  of  God."  To  the  spirit  of  what 
is  here  enjoined,  the  clergy  of  this  Church  are  therefore  required  care- 
fully to  attend  :    And  they  shall  use  such  a  decent  form  of  apparel  as 


APPENDIX.  559 

becomes  their  sacred  character  ;  avoiding  every  appearance  of  fashion- 
able levity,  either  in  dress  or  demeanour,  that  is  inconsistent  with  the 
gravity  of  their  profession,  or  which  might  deprive  it  of  that  respect 
which  is  due  to  it.  For  the  same  reason,  the  ancient  Canons  of  the 
Church  did  strictly  prohibit  "  the  admitting  of  any  to  the  office  of  a 
Bishop,  Presbyter,  or  Deacon,  who  had  not  brought  their  families  to  be 
Christians,"  whereby  all  ecclesiastical  persons  are  taught  the  necessity 
of  looking  well  to  the  order  and  good  government  of  their  households, 
and  of  training  up  their  families  in  such  a  religious  course  as  may  show 
to  others  an  encouraging  pattern  of  piety  and  virtue.  All  which  must 
be  duly  observed  under  pain  of  the  censures  of  the  Church,  to  be  in- 
flicted according  to  the  quality  of  the  offence. 

CANON  XIII. 

Pointing  out  the  Proper  Clerical  Studies. 

A  studious  life  being  of  great  consequence  to  the  right  discharge  of 
the  duties  of  the  clerical  office,  it  is  hereby  earnestly  recommended  that 
the  clergy  of  this  Church  apply  themselves  diligently  to  the  study  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  in  the  original  languages,  and  the  writings  of  the 
fathers  of  the  apostolic  and  two  next  succeeding  ages,  and  that  the 
younger  clergy,  in  particular,  be  attentive  and  diligent  in  the  course  of 
study  prescribed  to  them,  so  that  they  may  be  able  to  answer  such  ques- 
tions as  the  leading  books  in  that  course  may  suggest,  and  which  the 
Bishop  at  his  visitation  may  think  proper  to  put  to  them,  as  well  as  that 
they  may  be  able  in  their  sermons,  and  otherwise,  to  instruct  the  people 
under  their  charge  in  the  truly  Catholic  principles  of  that  pure  and  pri- 
mitive Church. 

CANON  XIV. 

Requiring  the  Clergy  of  this  Church  to  continue  in  their  Sacred 

Profession. 

As  every  clergyman  of  this  Church,  as  well  as  of  the  United  Church 
of  England  and  Ireland,  at  the  time  of  hia  receiving  authority  to  exe- 
cute the  office  of  a  Deacon,  declares  himself  to  be  "  inwardly  moved  by 

the  Holy  Ghost  to  take  upon   himself  this  ofiiee  and  ministration,  to 


5G0  APPENDIX. 

serve  God  for  the  promotion  of  his  glory,  and  the  edifying  of  his  people ;" 
therefore,  in  order  that  he  may  be  warned  of  the  danger  of  dissembling 
with  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  it  is  hereby  declared,  that  if  any  person  exer- 
cising his  ministry  in  this  Church  shall  afterwards  give  up  the  exercise 
of  his  ministerial  functions,  and  betake  himself  wholly  to  any  worldly 
business,  he  shall  be  incapable  of  ever  resuming  the  exercise  of  any 
ministerial  office  in  the  Church,  the  sacred  service  of  which  he  hath 
thus  shamefully  abandoned. 

CANON  XV. 

Concerning  the  Admission  of  Strangers  to  Officiate  in  this  Church. 

The  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland  recognises  as  in  full  communion 
with  herself  the  United  Church  of  England  and  Ireland,  the  colonial 
branches  of  the  same,  and  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America  ;  and  it  is  hereby  decreed,  that  none  but 
clergymen  canonically  ordained  by  the  Bishops  of  the  Scottish  Episco- 
pal Church,  or  of  the  above-mentioned  Churches,  or  episcopally  ordained 
clergymen,  conforming  to  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  said  Churches, 
shall  be  permitted  to  officiate  in  sacred  things,  either  permanently  or 
occasionally,  to  any  congregation  in  this  Church.  And,  moreover,  it  is 
decreed,  that  no  clergyman  shall  henceforth  be  permitted  to  officiate  in 
this  Church,  unless  his  principles  and  clerical  character  be  known  to 
the  clergyman  by  whom  he  is  to  be  employed,  to  be  correct  and  consist- 
ent with  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church  ; 
and  if  he  be  personally  unknown,  unless  he  produce  from  the  Bishop  of 
the  diocese  whence  he  comes,  or  from  some  other  clergyman  known  to 
be  worthy  of  all  credit,  a  letter  of  recommendation  ;  and  no  clergyman 
shall  officiate  in  this  Church  beyond  the  period  of  one  month  without 
the  licence  of  the  Bishop. 

CANON  XVI. 

The  Names  of  Stranger  Preachers  to  be  Noted  in  a  Book. 

That  the  Ordinary  may  be  able  to  ascertain  the  nature  of  the  doctrine 
taught  in  every  chapel  of  his  Diocese,  the  pastor  of  each  congregation 
shall  see  that  the  names  of  all  the  preachers  who  come  to  his  chapel 


APPENDIX.  561 

from  any  other  place  be  noted  in  a  book  which  he  shall  keep  in  his  Ves- 
try for  that  purpose,  wherein  every  preacher  shall  inscribe  his  name,  the 
day  when  he  preached,  the  title  of  the  Bishop  by  whom  he  was  ordained, 
and  the  date  of  his  ordination, 

CANON  XVII. 

Respecting  the  due  Administration  of  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism. 

As  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism  is  to  be  considered  a  public  act,  it 
ought,  unless  unavoidable  circumstances  prevent  it,  to  be  administered 
in  a  place  of  public  worship.  Parents,  therefore,  ought  to  be  admon- 
ished of  the  propriety  of  bringing  their  children  to  be  baptized  to  the 
place  where  they  usually  assemble  for  Divine  service  ;  and  either  of  be- 
coming sponsors  themselves,  or  of  procuring  Godfathers  or  Godmothers, 
who  shall  always  be  communicants,  that  the  Church  may  be  certified 
that  all  who  are  admitted  within  her  pale  will  be  brought  up  in  the 
knowledge  and  practice  of  Christianity.  But  as  uniformity  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  this  Sacrament  is  as  desirable  as  in  the  other  services  of 
the  Church,  the  privacy  of  the  administration  shall  be  no  reason  for  any 
departure  from  the  form  prescribed  for  public  use,  to  which  the  mini- 
ster shall  always  strictly  adhere,  except  in  cases  of  extreme  danger, 
where  the  form  of  private  Baptism  shall  be  used  as  directed  by  the 
Rubric.  And  whereas,  from  the  unhappy  multiplicity  of  religious  sects 
in  this  country,  cases  frequently  occur  in  which  persons,  from  con- 
scientious motives,  express  a  desire  to  separate  themselves  from  snob 
sects,  and  to  unite  themselves  to  the  Episcopal  Communion,  it  bccom< 
a  matter  of  serious  importance  to  furnish  a  rule  to  the  clergy,  by  which 
they  may  be  directed  in  such  cases.  It  is  therefore  enacted,  that  in  all 
instances  where  the  applicants  shall  express  a  doubt  of  the  validity  ot 
the  Baptism  which  they  have  received  from  the  minister  of  the  sect  to 
which  they  formerly  belonged,  the  clergyman  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal 
Church  to  whom  the  application  is  made,  shall  baptize  the  person  in  the 
form  of  words  prescribed  in  the  Hook  of  Common  Prayer  by  the  Church 

of  England  in  cases  ol  doubt — "  If  thou  aht  not  .u.ui:w>y  baptized,  N.. 

I  baptize  thee  in    the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son.   and  of  the 

llolv  Ghost.      Amen." 

And  wherei  Episcopal  Clergy  are  frequently  called  upon  b 


562  APPENDIX. 

tize  infants  whose  parents  are  not  members  of  the  Church,  it  is  hereby 
enacted,  that  the  clergy  of  this  Church  shall  not  administer  the  Sacra- 
ment of  Baptism,  except  to  children  for  whom  proper  sponsors  are  pro- 
vided. 

CANON  XVIII. 

Requiring  a  regular  Course  of  Catechising  in  all  Congregations. 

The  Christian  Church  having  ever  maintained  the  necessity  of  early 
and  sound  instruction  in  the  first  principles  of  her  holy  Faith,  it  is 
therefore  hereby  enacted,  that  constant  attention  be  shown  to  this  im- 
portant duty  ;  for  which  purpose,  the  season  of  Lent,  and  other  conve- 
nient time  on  Sundays  or  Holidays,  shall  be  set  apart  for  examining 
and  instructing  the  young  members  of  every  congregation  in  the  Cate- 
chism contained  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  ;  but  no  Catechism 
shall  be  used  in  the  further  instruction  of  the  young  but  such  as  is  ap- 
proved and  sanctioned  by  the  Bishop  of  the  diocese.  And  the  clergy 
shall  earnestly  exhort  and  admonish  their  people  respecting  the  great 
usefulness  of  this  mode  of  instruction,  and  point  out  to  parents  and 
others  who  may  have  the  charge  of  young  persons,  the  necessity  of 
bringing  them  regularly  to  be  catechised. 

CANON  XIX. 

Appointing  Confirmation  to  be  administered  in  every  Diocese  once  in  tliree 
years,  and  the  care  to  be  taken  that  due  Preparation  be  made  for  that 
solemn  Service. 

Whereas  it  has  been  a  sacred  and  solemn  appointment  in  the  Christ- 
ian Church,  continued  from  the  times  of  the  Apostles,  that  all  Bishops 
should  in  their  several  dioceses  regularly  administer  the  holy  ordinance 
of  Confirmation  by  imposition  of  hands  upon  persons  who  have  been 
baptized  and  duly  instructed  in  the  principles  of  Christ's  religion. 
Therefore,  it  is  hereby  enacted,  that  every  Bishop  of  this  Church  shall 
visit  his  diocese,  if  he  be  able  to  do  it,  once  in  three  years,  and  admini- 
ster this  sacred  ordinance  in  every  congregation  within  the  same  ;  and 
if  unable  to  visit  his  diocese  personally,  he  shall  obtain  one  of  his  col- 
leagues to  do  so  in  his  stead.     And  every  pastor  or  minister,  on  receiv- 


APPENDIX.  563 

ing  information  from  the  Bishop  of  the  time  of  his  triennial  visitation, 
shall  use  his  best  endeavours  to  prepare  for  Confirmation  those  whom 
he  is  to  present  to  the  Bishop  to  be  confirmed ;  giving  him  a  list  of 
their  names,  and  being  ready  to  answer  any  questions  he  may  put  re- 
specting their  age  and  qualifications. 

CANON  XX. 

Requiring  due  Intimation  and  Preparation  to  be  made  for  the  Holy 

Communion. 

In  every  congregation  of  this  Church,  the  holy  Sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  shall  be  administered,   so  often  and  at  such  times,  as 
that  every  member  of  the  congregation,  come  to  a  proper  time  of  life, 
may  communicate  at  least  three  times  in  the  year,  whereof  the  feast  of 
Easter,  or  of  Pentecost,  or  of  Christmas,  shall  be  one.     Due  warning 
shall  be  publicly  given  to  the  congregation  during  Divine  service  on  the 
Sunday  before  each  holy  Communion,  that  the  people  may  the  better 
prepare  themselves  for  the  participation  of  that  venerable  Sacrament. 
For  this  purpose,  every  clergyman  shall  pay  attention  to  the  spirit  and 
design  of  the  Rubrics  prefixed  to  the  order  for  the  administration  of 
the  Lord's  Supper  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer ;  and  shall  be  dili- 
gent in  enforcing  the  duties  there  prescribed  on  all  those  who  are  com- 
mitted to  his  pastoral  charge,  instructing  them  carefully  in  the  nature 
and  design  of  that  holy  Sacrament,  and  warning  them  of  the  danger  of 
receiving  the  same  unworthily.     And  because  strangers,  or  those  who 
have  but  lately  joined  his  congregation  with  the  intention  of  remaining 
therein,  cannot  always  be  so  well  known  to  him  as  to  enable  him  to 
judge  whether  they  be  meet  to  be  partakers  of  those  holy  mysteries,  such 
persons,  if  required  by  him,  shall  produce  from  the  clergyman  to  whoso 
congregation  they  formerly  belonged,   or  in  caso  of  a  vacancy,   from 
some  respectable  member  of  this  Church,  an  attestation  that  they  aro 
regular  communicants  in  the  Episcopal  Church. 

CANON   XXI. 

Respecting  the  Communion  Service  at  tin-  meet  Solemn  Pari  of  Christie* 

Worship. 

Wnereas  it  is  acknowleged  by  the  twentieth  and  thirty-fourth  of  the 


564  APPENDIX. 

Thirty-Nine  Articles,  that  "  not  only  the  Church  in  general,  but  every 
particular  or  national  Church,  hath  authority  to  ordain,  change,  and 
abolish  ceremonies  or  rites  of  the  Church  ordained  only  by  man's  au- 
thority, so  that  all  things  be  done  to  edifying  ;"  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  Scotland,  availing  herself  of  this  inherent  right,  hath  long  adopted, 
and  very  generally  used,  a  form  for  the  celebration  of  the  Holy  Commu- 
nion, known  by  the  name  of  the  Scotch  Communion  Office,  which  form 
hath  been  justly  considered,  and  is  hereby  considered,  as  the  authorised 
service  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  the  administration  of  that  sacra- 
ment. And  as,  in  order  to  promote  an  union  among  all  those  who  pro- 
fess to  be  of  the  Episcopal  persuasion  in  Scotland,  permission  was  for- 
merly granted  by  the  Bishops  to  retain  the  use  of  the  English  Office  in 
all  congregations  where  the  said  Office  had  been  previously  in  use,  the 
same  permission  is  now  ratified  and  confirmed  :  And  it  is  also  enacted, 
that  in  the  use  of  either  the  Scotch  or  English  Office  no  amalgamation, 
alteration,  or  interpolation  whatever,  shall  take  place,  nor  shall  any  sub- 
stitution of  the  one  for  the  other  be  admitted,  unless  it  be  approved  by 
the  Bishop.  From  respect,  however,  for  the  authority  which  originally 
sanctioned  the  Scotch  Liturgy,  and  for  other  sufficient  reasons,  it  is 
hereby  enacted,  that  the  Scotch  Communion  Office  continue  to  be  held 
of  primary  authority  in  this  Church,  and  that  it  shall  be  used  not  only 
in  all  consecrations  of  Bishops,  but  also  at  the  opening  of  all  General 
Synods. 

CANON  XXII. 

Respecting  the  Solemnization  of  Matrimony. 

The  law  of  the  land  having  required  the  publication  of  banns  before 
marriage,  no  clergyman  of  this  Church  shall  take  upon  him  to  solem- 
nize matrimony  without  having  previously  received  a  sufficient  attesta- 
tion that  the  law  in  this  respect  hath  been  duly  complied  with.  He 
shall  not  join  persons  in  matrimony  who  are  within  the  forbidden  de- 
grees, nor  under  the  age  of  twenty- one  years,  unless  with  the  consent  of 
their  parents  or  guardians.  In  the  solemnization  of  matrimony,  such 
prayers  only  shall  be  used  as  are  contained  in  the  form  prescribed  in 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 


APPENDIX.  565 

CANON  XXI11 

Respecting  the  Visitation  of  the  Sick,  and  the  Burial  of  the  Dead. 

As  in  all  the  days  of  their  spiritual  warfare,  from  their  baptism  to 
their  burial,  Christians  have  provided  for  them  the  benefit  of  assistance 
from  the  ministry  of  the  clergy,  so  ought  they  more  especially  to  apply 
for  the  spiritual  aid  in  the  time  of  sickness,  when  their  need  of  such  as- 
sistance is  more  urgent.     Therefore,  it  is  hereby  enacted,  that  when 
any  presbyter  or  clergyman  of  this  Church  is  called  to  visit  any  sick 
member  of  his  congregation,  he  shall  not  neglect  to  perform  this  duty  ; 
but  repairing  to  the  sick  person's  house,  shall  be  there  ready  to  admi- 
nister all  suitable  comfort  and  instruction,  either  according  to  the  order 
for  the  visitation  of  the  sick  as  appointed  in  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer,  or  in  any  other  way  as  he  shall  think  most  needful  and  conve- 
nient ;  and  take  the  advice  or  direction  of  his  own  Bishop  in  any  case 
which  may  particularly  call  for  it.     When  the  prayers  of  the  congrega- 
tion are  desired  in  behalf  of  any  sick  member  of  it,  the  clergyman  is  at 
liberty  to  use  the  Collect  appointed  for  the  Communion  of  the  Sick,  in- 
serting after  the  words  "  visited  with  Thine  hand,"  the  words   "  for 
whom  our  prayers  are  now  desired  ; "  or  any  other  of  the  prayers  in  the 
"  Order  for  the  Visitation  of  the  Sick,"  as  the  case  may  require.     And 
he  shall  also  be  ready  to  do  the  last  duty  when  he  shall  be  called  upon 
to  read  the  "  Order  for  the  Burial  of  the  Dead,"  which  he  shall  use  as 
prescribed  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  as  far  as  circumstances  will 
permit  that  order  to  be  observed  by  the  clergy  of  this  Church. 

CANON  XXIV. 

Registers  to  be  kept  by  cccry  tJlergymoH 

It  is  decreed  that  every  clergyman  of*  this  Church  shall  keep  a  001 
rect  register  of  baptisms,  marriages,  and  burials,  catechumens,  and 
communicants  at  the  several  festivals  and  other  celebrations;  which, 
if  required,  be  shall  produce  to  the  Bishop  at  the  time  of  hie  visitation, 
and  also  take  care  thai  sucb  register  may  be  given  to  the  person  who 
succeeds  him  in  bis  pastoral  charge 


566  APPENDIX. 

CANON  XXV. 

Against  exacting  Money  for  Performance  of  Occasional  Duties. 

It  is  decreed,  that  no  minister  in  this  Church  shall  make,  or  permit 
the  officers  of  his  Chapel  to  make,  any  charge  of  money  for  the  admini- 
stration or  registration  of  baptism,  marriage,  or  any  other  ecclesiastical 
service,  under  pain  of  ecclesiastical  censure,  and  of  suspension,  if  he  per- 
sist against  the  reproof  of  his  Ordinary.  But  it  is  to  be  understood  that 
no  minister  is  hereby  precluded  from  accepting  a  gratuity  spontaneously 
offered. 

CANON  XXVI. 
Enjoining  a  Reverent  Observance  of  the  Lord's  Bay. 

It  is  required  of  every  member  of  this  Church  to  hallow  the  Lord's 
day  and  keep  it  holy  ;  which  duty  will  be  best  fulfilled  by  "  not  doing 
on  that  day  our  own  ways,  nor  finding  our  own  pleasure,  nor  speaking 
our  own  words  ;"  but  by  a  regular  and  devout  attendance  in  the  sanc- 
tuary to  learn  God's  ways,  to  find  His  pleasure,  to  be  taught  His  word, 
and  to  join  in  the  petitions,  confessions,  and  thanksgivings  of  the  Church ; 
always  bearing  in  mind,  that,  at  the  appointed  and  stated  hours  of  pub- 
lic worship,  no  one  can  absent  himself  from  the  congregation  without 
crime  ;  unless  his  absence  be  caused  by  illness,  or  some  other  equally 
urgent  occasion,  or  necessity  of  life  ;  or  that  he  be  engaged  in  a  work 
of  charity  and  mercy. 

CANON  XXVII. 

Regulating  the  Times,  and  Public  Assemblies  for  Divine  Service,  on 

other  Days  besides  Sundays. 

Whereas  in  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland,  and  in  conformity 
with  the  practice  of  the  Church  universal,  besides  the  Lord's  Day,  cer- 
tain solemn  days,  especially  the  anniversaries  of  our  Saviour's  birth, 
crucifixion,  and  ascension,  have  been  always  observed  for  the  public 
worship  of  God  :  It  is  hereby  decreed,  that  the  clergy  do  reverently  and 
devoutly  attend  to  these  sacred  solemnities,  and  to  the  regular  celebra- 
tion of  Divine'service  in  their  several  congregations ;  that  the  people, 


APPENDIX.  567 

being  accustomed  to  see  every  thing,  according  to  the  Apostle's  rule, 
"  done  decently  and  in  order,"  may  be  ready  and  well  disposed  to  bear 
their  part  in  that  form  of  worship  which  is  so  well  calculated  to  impress 
on  their  minds  a  just  sense  of  that  which  they  are  taught  to  believe  as 
an  article  of  their  Creed — "  The  Communion  of  Saints." 

CANON  XXVIII. 

On  the  Uniformity  to  be  observed  in  Public  Worship. 

As  in  all  the  ordinary  parts  of  Divine  service  it  is  necessary  to  fix, 
by  authority,  the  precise  form,  from  which  no  Bishop,  Presbyter,  or 
Deacon,  shall  be  at  liberty  to  depart,  by  his  own  alterations  or  inser- 
tions, lest  such  liberty  should  produce  consequences  destructive  of  "  de- 
cency and  order,"  it  is  hereby  enacted,  that,  in  the  performance  of 
morning  and  evening  service,  the  words  and  rubrical  directions  of  the 
English  Liturgy  shall  be  strictly  adhered  to  :  And  it  is  further  decreed, 
that,  if  any  clergyman  shall  officiate  or  preach  in  any  place  publicly 
without  using  the  Liturgy  at  all,  he  shall,  for  the  first  offence,  be  admo- 
nished by  his  Bishop,  and,  if  he  persevere  in  this  uncanonical  practice, 
shall  be  suspended,  until,  after  due  contrition,  he  be  restored  to  the 
exercise  of  his  clerical  functions.  In  publicly  reading  prayers  and  ad- 
ministering the  sacraments,  the  surplice  shall  be  used  as  the  proper  sa- 
cerdotal vestment. 

CANON  XXIX. 

Enjoining  all  due  Reverence  and  Attention  in  time  of  Divine  Service. 

It  is  hereby  decreed,  that  all  proper  care  be  taken  of  the  places  of 
public  worship  in  this  Church,  and  every  endeavour  used  to  have  them 
decent  and  commodious,  kept  thoroughly  clean  and  in  good  repair,  and 
that  they  be  used  only  for  sacred  and  religious  purposes.  In  the  time 
of  Divine  service  the  most  devout  attention  shall  be  given  by  the  people 
to  what  is  read,  preached,  or  ministered.  And,  that  they  may  glorify 
God  in  lmdyas  well  as  in  spirit,  agreeably  t<>  what  an  Apostle  enjoins, 
tin  -  v  shall  humbly  kneel  when  the  general  confession,  the  Litany,  and 
other  prayers,  arc  read,  making  the  appointed  witk  em  audible 

voice,  in  a  grave  and  te\        manner;  and  shall  reverently  stand  up  at 


Di)$  APPENDIX. 

the  repetition  of  the  creed,  and  at  the  reading  or  singing  of  the  psalms, 
hymns,  or  anthems,  bowing  devoutly  at  the  name  of  Jesus  in  the  creed  ; 
and,  when  the  minister  mentions  the  Gospel  for  the  day,  the  people,, 
rising  up,  shall  devoutly  say  or  sing  (where  the  custom  hath  so  been), 
•'  Glory  be  to  Thee,  0  God."  And,  in  like  manner,  when  the  minister 
declares  the  holy  Gospel  to  be  ended,  they  shall  answer,  "  Thanks  be  to 
Thee,  0  Lord,  for  this  thy  glorious  Gospel."  During  the  time  of  Di- 
vine service  no  person  shall  depart  out  of  the  place  of  worship  without 
some  urgent  and  reasonable  cause. 

CANON  XXX. 

Respecting  National  Fasts  and  Thanksgivings. 

All  national  fasts  and  thanksgivings  enjoined  by  the  civil  authority 
shall  in  this  Church  be  religiously  observed  ;  and  every  Bishop  shall 
give  directions  to  his  clergy  what  form  of  prayer  they  are  to  use  on  such 
particular  occasions. 

CANON  XXXI. 

For  appointing  Diocesan  Synods,  and  regulating  the  Business  of  the  same. 

A  diocesan  synod  shall  be  holden  annually  in  every  diocese  of  the 
Church,  at  such  time  and  place  as  the  Ordinary,  or  as  the  Dean  em- 
powered by  him,  shall  appoint,  and  shall  consist  of  the  Bishop,  the  Dean, 
and  such  clergymen  as  have  been  instituted  to  their  charges  ;  and  shall 
be  attended  by  all  the  clergy  of  the  diocese,  unless  hindered  by  some 
sufficient  cause,  whereof  notice  shall  be  given  to  the  diocesan.  And  if 
no  such  notice  be  given,  the  absentee  shall  be  subjected  to  the  censure 
and  reprimand  of  his  Ordinary.  Previously  to  the  sitting  of  the  synod, 
Divine  service  shall  be  performed,  and  a  sermon  preached  by  one  of  the 
clergy  in  rotation.  After  which,  the  synod  being  duly  constituted  by 
the  Ordinary,  or  in  his  absence  by  the  Dean,  every  incumbent  shall  lay 
before  the  meeting  a  report  of  the  state  of  the  congregation  under  his 
charge,  containing  the  number  of  souls  and  communicants  in  it,  of  bap- 
tisms, marriages,  and  deaths,  of  persons  catechised  and  confirmed,  of 
communicants  at  the  several  festivals  and  other  communions,  and  a  list 
of  the  stranger  clergymen  who  have  preached  in  this  chapel  within  the 


APPKM'!\.  569 

year,  and  such  other  particulars  as  the  Bishop  shall  prescribe :  All 
which  reports  shall  be  entered  by  the  clerk  in  the  diocesan  minute-book. 
Every  diocesan  synod  may  also  suggest  rules  for  the  regulation  of  eccle- 
siastical affairs,  which,  if  approved  by  the  Bishop,  and  not  inconsistent 
with  the  constitution  and  Canons  of  the  Church,  shall  have  the  force  of 
laws  within  the  diocese. 

CANON  XXXII. 

Appointing  General  Synods,  and  regulating  the  Business  of  the  same. 

Every  general  synod  shall  consist  of  two  chambers  ;  the  first  composed 
of  the  Bishops  alone  :  the  second  of  the  deans,  the  Pantonian  Professor 
of  Theology,  ex  officio,  and  the  representatives  or  delegates  of  the  clergy  ; 
one  such  delegate  being  chosen  by  and  from  the  incumbents  of  each  dio- 
cese. The  second  chamber  shall  elect  a  preses  or  prolocutor,  who  shall 
at  all  times  have  free  admission  to  the  first  chamber,  when  communi- 
cation is  on  either  side  required. 

Canons  or  rules  for  the  order  and  discipline  of  the  Church  shall  bo 
made  and  enacted  by  a  general  synod  only  ;  and  no  law  or  Canon  shall 
be  enacted,  abrogated,  or  altered,  but  by  the  consent  and  with  the  ap- 
probation of  the  majority  of  both  chambers.  If  the  chambers  shall 
happen  to  be  equally  divided  in  their  opinions  on  any  question,  the 
Primus  in  the  upper- house,  and  the  prolocutor  in  the  lower,  shall  havo  the 
casting  vote. 

And  whereas  the  assembling  of  a  General  Synod  can  only  be  neces- 
sary when  important  business  occurs  in  the  Church,  it  is  hereby  decreed, 
that  the  times  for  holding  such  Synods  shall  be  left  to  the  determina- 
tion of  a  numerical  majority  of  the  Bishops.  When  any  Bishop  is  dis- 
abled from  being  personally  present  at  a  General  Synod,  through  infir- 
mity or  pressing  inconvenience  (to  be  duly  notified  to  the  Primus,  and 
by  him  to  the  other  Bishops),  he  may  propose  to  the  Synod,  in  writing, 
any  measure  Which  lie  Bhall  judge  expedient,  or  express  his  opinion  eon 

oeming  any  question  or  matter  to  be  brought  before  the  Synod,  which 

opinion  shall  lie  entitled  to  due  consideration  and  respect,  hut  shall  net 

held  as  his  canonical  vote. 

When  a  General  Synod  Bhall  be  convokod,  or  an  episcopal  Synod 
called,  f<  lecined  pur;-         be  Bishop  who  shall  neglect  t<>  attend 


570  APPENDIX. 

either  of  these  meetings,  without  sending  to  the  Primus  a  sufficient  ex- 
cuse for  his  absence,  arising  either  from  bad  health,  the  infirmities  of 
old  age,  or  some  very  important  business  which  absolutely  demands  his 
presence  elsewhere,  shall  incur  such  a  censure  by  his  colleagues  in  office 
as  to  the  majority  of  them  his  conduct  may  appear  to  deserve. 

And  any  Member  of  the  other  Chamber,  whether  Dean,  or  Delegate, 
or  Professor,  who,  without  sending  a  similar  excuse  either  to  the  Primus 
or  to  his  own  Diocesan,  shall  neglect  to  attend  a  General  Synod  to 
which  he  has  been  regularly  summoned,  shall,  if  a  Dean,  be  deprived  of 
his  office,  and  if  a  Delegate,  be  declared  inadmissible  to  any  future 
Synod. 

CANON   XXXIII. 

On  the  Legislative  Poicer  of  General  Synods. 

A  General  Synod  of  the  Church,  duly  and  regularly  summoned,  lias 
the  undoubted  power  to  alter,  amend,  and  abrogate  the  Canons  in  force, 
and  to  make  new  Canons  ;  and  the  said  alterations,  amendments,  abro- 
gations, and  new  Canons,  being  in  conformity  with  the  recognised  con- 
stitution and  acknowledged  practice  of  this  Church,  shall  not  only  oblige 
the  minority  in  the  said  Synod,  but  all  the  absent  members  of  the 
Church. 

CANON  XXXIV. 

Appointing  Episcopal  Synods. 

It  is  hereby  decreed,  that  an  Episcopal  Synod  shall  be  holden  every 
year,  at  such  time  and  place  as  the  majority  of  the  Bishops  shall  appoint, 
and  that  no  such  Synod  shall  be  deemed  canonical  unless  three  Bishops 
at  the  least  be  present.  Episcopal  Synods  shall  receive  appeals  from 
either  clergy  or  laity  against  the  sentence  of  their  own  immediate  ec- 
clesiastical superior. 

CANON  XXXV. 

Prescribing  the  Conditions  of  Appeal. 

In  any  differences  which  may  arise  between  a  Pastor  and  members  of 
his  flock,  which  cannot  be  amicably  settled,  the  matter  in  dispute  must 
be  carried  in  the  first  instance  before  the  Ordinary  :  And  if  either  party 


APPENDIX.  571 

think  themselves  aggrieved  by  his  decision,  then  the  case  may  be  ap- 
pealed by  letter  or  petition  to  a  Synod  of  Bishops.  But  no  such  case 
can  be  carried  before  an  Episcopal  Synod  until  the  Ordinary's  decision  be 
first  had  thereon  :  And  no  appeal  against  his  decision  shall  be  admis- 
sible, unless  the  contending  parties  solemnly  promise  to  hold  the  sentence 
of  a  majority  of  the  Bishops  present  final  and  conclusive  ;  such  regulation 
being  conformable  not  only  to  the  Canons  of  the  Universal  Church,  but 
also  to  the  principle  laid  down  by  our  Saviour  himself :  "  If  he  neglect  to 
hear  the  Church,  let  him  be  unto  thee  as  an  Heathen  man  and  a  Publican." 

And  moreover,  it  is  further  provided  by  this  statute,  that  if  any  dis- 
pute arise  between  a  Deacon  and  his  Bishop,  or  a  Presbyter  and  his 
Bishop  (the  congregation  in  which  the  Deacon  or  Presbyter  officiates 
in  no  way  participating  therein),  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  said  Deacon 
or  Presbyter  to  appeal  to  the  Episcopal  College,  under  the  condition 
already  specified,  viz.,  that  the  appellant  give  a  solemn  promise  to  re- 
ceive the  sentence  of  a  majority  of  Bishops  canonically  assembled  as 
final  and  conclusive. 

In  all  cases  of  appeal,  the  appellant  or  appellants  may  be  heard  per- 
sonally in  his  or  their  own  defence,  but  not  by  counsel. 

CANON  XXXVI. 

Respecting  Accusations  against  Bishops,  Presbyters,  and  Deacons. 

No  accusation  shall  be  received  against  a  Deacon,  or  Presbyter,  or 
Bishop,  unless  proceeding  from  and  supported  by  the  testimony  of 
credible  persons,  who  are  regular  communicants  in  the  Scottish  Episco- 
pal Church  :  Nor  .shall  the  testimony  of  a  single  witness  be  considered 
as  sufficient  to  establish  the  charge,  for  the  Scripture  saith,  "  In  the 
mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses  shall  every  word  be  established." 
But  if  a  Bishop  be  accused,  and  the  accusation,  proceeding  from  three 
or  more  respectable  persons,  lay  or  clerical  members  of  the  Scottish 
Episcopal  Church,  be  lodged  before  the  Primus,  or  in  case  of  the  Pri- 
mus being  accused,  before  the  next  senior  Bishop,  he  shall  be  cited  to 
appear  and  plead,  and  if  lie  do  not  obey  the  summons,  he  shall  be  cited 
a  second  time  in  the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  the  Kpi-copal  Col- 

lege  :  au<l  if  he  be  then  guilty  of  contempt  in  not  appearing,  let  tho 
College  prononnoe  against  him  such  sentence  as  they  think  tit,  that  he 
may  nol  be  a  gainer  by  declining  justice 


572  APPENDIX. 

it  is  further  provided  by  this  Canon,  that  if,  without  any  formal  ac- 
cusation, a  Bishop  shall  have  reason  to  believe  that  any  one  of  his  clergy 
is  faulty  in  any  matter  ;  if  the  matter  be  of  small  importance,  and  not 
implying  any  grave  delinquency  in  doctrine,  discipline,  or  morals,  the 
Bishop  shall  deal  privately  with  the  erring  brother,  and  admonish  him 
of  his  error  ;  but  if  such  remonstrance  be  neglected,  or  if  the  fault  be 
of  a  grave  or  scandalous  nature,  then  the  Bishop  shall,  after  due  notice 
of  the  charge,  stated  in  precise  terms  to  the  parties  concerned,  summon 
them  before  himself  sitting  in  Diocesan  Synod,  and  shall  appoint  the 
Dean,  or,  if  necessary,  some  other  presbyter,  to  state  the  charge,  and 
bring  forward  the  evidence ;  and  having  fully  heard  both  the  accuser 
and  the  accused,  and  all  the  evidence  that  either  can  produce,  he  shall, 
after  having  received  the  opinion  of  each  member  of  the  synod,  proceed 
to  pronounce  sentence  ;  and  if  the  accused  shall  appeal  against  the  sen- 
tence of  his  Bishop  to  the  College  of  Bishops,  as  is  by  the  preceding 
Canon  declared  to  be  lawful,  the  College  shall,  as  speedily  as  possible, 
and  at  latest  within  six  months,  examine  and  decide  upon  the  appeal. 

CANON  XXXVII. 

Prohibiting  the  Clergy  of  one  Diocese  from  interfering  with  the  Concerns 

of  another. 

It  is  hereby  decreed,  that  the  Clergy  of  one  Diocese  must  not  inter- 
fere in  the  concerns  of  another,  nor  take  any  direction  for  their  official 
conduct  but  from  their  own  Ordinary  ;  it  being  always  understood  that 
they  shall  retain  the  right  of  appealing  from  any  sentence  of  their  own 
Bishop,  by  which  they  may  think  themselves  aggrieved,  to  the  Primus 
and  other  comprovincial  Bishops  in  Synod  canonically  assembled. 

CANON  XXXVIIL 

Providing  for  the  Clergy  and  Laity  of  this  Church  being  furnished  ioith  an 
accurate  View  of  its  State  and  Condition  from  time  to  time. 

Whereas,  under  Providence,  no  measure  seems  better  adapted  to  pro  • 
mote  the  welfare  and  stability  of  this  Church,  or  to  perpetuate  harmony 
and  concord  among  its  members,  than  that  they  should  be  accurately 
informed  as  to  its  actual  state  and  condition,   it  is  hereby  ordained, 


APPENDIX.  573 

with  a  view  of  attaining  this  desirable  object,  that  the  Bishops,  when 
assembled  in  the  annual  Episcopal  Synod,  shall,  if  they  deem  it  neces- 
sary, issue  a  pastoral  letter,  containing  an  account  of  all  the  circum- 
stances and  occurrences,  adverse  as  well  as  prosperous,  which  they 
think  it  may  be  for  the  benefit  of  the  Church  to  be  generally  known  ; 
and  the  pastoral  letter  agreed  upon  by  the  Bishops  shall  be  printed,  and 
a  sufficient  number  of  copies  sent  to  each  Ordinary  to  supply  the  charges 
under  his  jurisdiction,  who  shall  require  the  incumbent  of  every  charge 
to  read  the  pastoral  letter  to  his  congregation  during  the  time  of  Divine 
service,  on  the  first  Lord's  Day  after  he  receives  it  that  may  be  most 
convenient. 


CANON   XXXIX. 

Appointing  the  Mode  of  admitting  new  Congregations  into  the  Church, 

Should  any  number  of  Episcopalians,  living  in  any  town  or  village 
in  Scotland  where  there  is  an  Episcopal  Chapel  already  in  existence, 
entertain  a  desire  to  be  formed  into  a  congregation  in  communion  witl 
this  Church,  it  is  hereby  decreed  that  the  following  mode  of  procedure 
bo  adopted : — 

1st,  A  meeting  of  the  bona  fide  Episcopalians,  or  of  persons  desirous 
of  becoming  such,  who  wish  to  form  such  congregation,  shall  be  held 
agreeably  to  a  public  advertisement ;  at  which  meeting,  when  duly  con- 
stituted, a  resolution  expressive  of  their  intentions,  together  with  the 
reasons  that  render  it  necessary  that  such  new  congregation  should  be 
formed,  shall  be  formally  drawn  up,  and  signed  by  all  the  applicants,  to 
bo  transmitted  to  the  Bishop  of  the  diocese  within  which  the  town  or 
village  is  situated. 

2dhj,  The  Bishop,  upon  receiving  such  notification,  shall,  after  con- 
sulting the  presbyters  of  his  diocese,  communicate  to  the  applicants  his 
determination.  Should  he  follow  the  advice  given  him  by  a  majority  of 
his  presbyters,  his  determination  shall  be  final;  but  if  he  shall  decide 
again-t  the  majority,  the  applicants,  or  any  party  or  parties,  who  may 
consider  themselves  aggrieved  by  the  decision,  may  appeal  to  the  Col- 
lege of  Bishops,  and  -hall  have  the  right  t<»  appear  before  them  by  a  de- 
legate, to  state  the  grounds  of  their  appeal. 


i 


574  APPENDIX. 

3dly,  Should  the  Bishop,  with  the  advice  already  mentioned,  find  it 
expedient  to  sanction  the  formation  of  the  proposed  congregation,  the 
congregation  thus  formed  and  acknowledged  shall  then  proceed  to  elect 
a  minister,  according  to  Canon  X.,  and  present  him  to  the  Bishop, 
agreeably  to  the  form  prescribed.  But  previously  to  his  institution, 
they  shall  lay  before  the  Bishop  the  articles  or  constitution  of  the  pro- 
posed chapel,  a  copy  of  which,  when  approved  by  him,  shall  be  preserved 
among  the  documents  and  papers  of  the  diocese. 

The  Bishops  shall  urge  the  vestries  in  their  respective  dioceses  to  in- 
sert in  the  constitution  of  all  existing  chapels  a  clause  enforcing  the 
discipline  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church. 


CANON  XL. 

For  Establishing  and  Maintaining  a  Society  in  Aid  of  the  Church. 

Whereas,  in  the  Primitive  Church,  and  by  apostolic  order,  collections 
were  made  for  the  poorer  brethren,  and  for  the  propagation  of  the  Gos- 
pel, it  is  hereby  decreed,  that  a  similar  practice  shall  be  observed  in 
the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church.  Nor  ought  the  poverty  of  the  Church, 
nor  of  any  portion  of  it,  to  be  pleaded  as  an  objection,  seeing  that  the 
Divine  commendation  is  given  equally  to  those  who,  from  their  poverty, 
give  a  little  with  cheerfulness,  and  to  those  who  give  largely  of  their 
abundance.  For  this  purpose,  a  society,  called  "  The  Scottish  Epis- 
copal Church  Society,"  shall  be  formed  ;  the  objects  of  which  shall  be, 
1st,  To  provide  a  fund  for  aged  or  infirm  Clergymen,  or  salaries  for 
their  assistants,  and  general  aid  for  congregations  struggling  with  pe- 
cuniary difficulties  ;  2dly,  To  assist  candidates  for  the  ministry  in  com- 
pleting their  theological  studies  ;  3c%,  To  provide  Episcopal  school- 
masters, books,  and  tracts,  for  the  poor  ;  Uhly,  To  assist  in  the  for- 
mation or  enlargement  of  diocesan  libraries.  To  promote  these  import- 
ant purposes,  a  certain  day  shall  be  fixed  upon  annually  by  every 
Diocesan  Synod,  when  a  collection  shall  be  made  in  every  Chapel 
throughout  the  Diocese,  and  the  nature  and  object  of  the  Society,  in 
reference  to  the  existing  wants  of  the  Church,  shall  be  explained  to  the 
people. 


APPENDIX.  575 

CANON  XLI. 

Declaring  what  Censure  or  Spiritual  Penalty  is  to  be  incurred  by  a  Breach 

of  these  Canons. 

If  it  shall  be  ascertained,  by  clear  and  sufficient  evidence,  that  any 
Bishop  of  this  Church  hath  neglected  any  of  the  duties,  or  acted  con- 
trary to  any  of  the  regulations  prescribed  to  him  by  this  Code  of  Canons, 
he  shall  be  censured  or  dealt  with  by  the  other  Bishops  as  they  may 
reasonably  judge  that  his  neglect  or  transgression  requires.  And,  in  all 
cases  of  complaint,  whether  they  regard  Bishop,  Presbyter,  or  Deacon, 
the  sentence  of  the  Bishops,  that  is,  of  the  whole,  or  of  the  majority  of 
their  number,  shall  be  final  and  conclusive. 

All  laws  must  have  an  obligatory  sanction  ;  and,  in  respect  of  these 
Canons  or  Rules,  the  Love  of  Ciirist  will  point  to  that  sanction,  and 
will  produce  a  ready  observance  of  whatever  the  authority  which  He 
hath  given  to  His  Church  shall  duly  and  regularly  enjoin,  for  the  honour 
and  glory  of  His  name. 

But  as  in  all  societies,  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  civil,  there  will  always 
be  some  individuals  whose  conduct  is  not  so  much  guided  as  it  ought  to 
be  by  the  love  of  Christ,  and,  as  it  is  chiefly  for  the  direction  of  such 
persons  that  Canons  and  Laws  are  enacted,  it  is  hereby  decreed,  that, 
if  any  Clergyman,  whether  Bishop,  Presbyter,  or  Deacon,  shall  disobey 
any  of  the  above  Canons,  he  shall,  after  the  first  and  second  admoni- 
tion by  his  proper  judge,  be  rejected,  and  publicly  declared  to  be  no 
longer  a  Clergyman  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland.  But  after- 
wards, on  giving  sufficient  evidence  of  a  sincere  repentance,  he  may  be 
restored  to  his  former  station  by  the  sentence  of  a  majority  of  the 
Bishops. 

[The  Canons  of  the  Church  arc  here  inserted  at  the  urgent  request  of 
Berera]  distinguished  clergymen  in  England,  who  wish  to  possesfl  then 

in  a  more  substantial  form  than  afl  a  pamphlet.] 


57(j  APEENPIX. 


No.  V. 
SUCCESSION  OF  THE  SCOTTISH  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

FROM  THE    RESTORATION  OF    KINO    CHARLES  II.  TO  THE  CONSECRATION 
OF  THE  RIGHT  REV.  DR  TERROT  IN  1841, 

[FROM  "  AN  APOLOGY  FOR  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  APOSTOLICAL  SUCCES- 
SION. BY  THE  HON.  AND  REV.  A.  P.  PERCIVAL,  B.C.L.,  CHAPLAIN  IN  OR- 
DINARY  TO  THE  QUEEN."       SECOND  EDITION,   1841.] 

The  valuable  little  work,  from  which  the  following  table  of  the  suc- 
cession of  the  Scottish  Bishops  is  taken,  contains  in  a  condensed  form 
the  whole  argument  for  the  Scriptural  and  Apostolical  institution  of 
the  Episcopal  government  of  the  Church  Catholic,  in  opposition  parti- 
cularly to  Presbyterianism  and  Congregationalism.  As  there  may 
be  some  readers  of  the  present  volume  who  have  not  seen  Mr  Per- 
cival's  work — of  which,  if  such  be  the  case,  they  would  do  well  to  pos- 
sess themselves — the  insertion  of  the  Table  of  Contents  will  give 
some  notion  of  the  subjects  discussed  by  the  eminent  and  learned 
author.  The  Introduction  comprises  the  following  important  points  : — 
"  The  authority  of  God  necessary  for  the  validity  of  the  acts  of  the 
Christian  ministry — Question  as  to  the  mode  of  conveying  this  au- 
thority— Belief  of  the  English  Church,  and  of  the  Church  Catholic 
and  Primitive — Presbyterian  Scheme — Origin  of  it — Congregationalist 
or  Independent  Scheme — Proposed  comparison  of  testimony,  scriptural 
and  ecclesiastical,  in  behalf  of  the  three  schemes  respectively."  The 
Hon.  and  Rev.  author  then  developes  the  plan  of  his  treatise  in  eight 
Chapters  : — "  I.  Congregationalism.  Scriptural  passages  and  precedents 
resembling  the  Congregationalist  system  examined,  and  shown  to  be 
either  condemnatory  of  it  or  irrelevant. — Micah — Dathan  and  Abiram— 
Jeroboam — The  sons  of  Sceva — Apollos — The  man  casting  out  Devils — 
Matt,  xviii.  20 — The  transactions  at  Antioch — 2  Tim.  iv.  3 — The 
Seven  Deacons.  II.  Congregationalism.  Ecclesiastical  precedents  for 
the  Congregational  scheme,   None.      III.  Presbyterianism.    Scriptural 


APPENDIX.  577 

passages  and  precedents  resembling  the  Presbyterian  system  examined, 
and  shown  to  be  either  condemnatory  of  it,  or  irrelevant — Korah — 
2  Cor.  x.  xi.  xiii. — Acts  xx. — Diotrephes — The  followers  of  Korah — 
False  Apostles — Indiscriminate  application  of  titles  in  Scripture — Our 
Lord  called  an  Apostle,  a  Bishop,  a  Deacon — The  Apostles  called  Pres- 
byters and  Deacons — Their  office  a  Bishopric — Consideration  and  repu- 
tation of  the  Presbyterian  argument  on  Phil.  i.  2 — Acts  xx. — The 
Epistles  to  Timothy — Especially  1  Tim.  iv.  14.  IV.  Presbyterianism. 
Ecclesiastical  precedents  appealed  to  by  the  Presbyterians — Corinth — 
Alexandria — Iona — In  all  these  the  very  contrary  established — Wal- 
denses  doubtful — The  expressions  of  individual  writers  how  to  be  under- 
stood. V.  Presbyterianism.  This  scheme  suicidal,  even  if  the  theory 
could  be  admitted.  VI.  Episcopacy.  This  system  unassailable,  even  if 
the  evidence  of  Divine  Institution  should  fail — Antecedent  objections  to 
it  considered — Uncharitableness — Exclusiveness — Popishness — Juda- 
ism— Matt,  xxiii.  ;  Mark  x.  ;  Luke  xxii. — Protestant  Reformers — His- 
torical evidence — Corruption  of  the  channel — Non-importance.  VII. 
Ecclesiastical  testimony  in  support  of  Episcopacy — Universal  consent 
of  the  Christian  world  for  1500  years — Clement  of  Rome — Ignatius — 
Irenreus — Clement  of  Alexandria — Tertullian — Origen — Cyprian — I^ir- 
milian — Clarus  a  Muscula — Anti-Nicene  Code — Catholic  Code.  VIII. 
Episcopacy.  Scriptural  testimony  in  support  of  Episcopacy — Churches 
of  Asia  Minor — Churches  of  Crete  and  Ephesus — All  the  Churches 
during  the  Apostles'  lives — The  whole  Church  during  our  Lord's  abode 
on  earth — Our  Lord's  addresses  to  the  Apostles — Corroborative  inciden- 
tal passages — Appeal  to  the  Presbyterians." 

Mr  Perceval  has  inserted  several  valuable  details  in  his  Appendix,  not 
the  least  interesting  of  which  are  the  Episcopal  Tables,  prepared  with 
great  accuracy,  labour,  and  research.  Theso  are  entitled — "  Episcopal 
descent  of  the  present  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  traced  in  full  for  four 
Cuccessions — Episcopal  descent  of  the  present  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
from  Archbishop  Warham  traced  in  a  singlo  lino — Consecrations  among 
the  English  Nonjurors — Episcopal  Succession  in  Scotland — Episcopal 
Succession  in  America — Succession  of  Bishops  in  the  Irish  Church." 
As  it  is  with  the  Episcopal  Succession  in  Scotland  that  this  narrative 
is  conncctod,  the  following  are  Mr  Perceval's  remarks  introductory  to  his 
Table. 

2o 


578  APPENDIX. 

"  The  ancient  line  of  Scottish  Bishops,  by  whom  the  greater  part  of 
Saxon  England  had  been  evangelized,  who  had  supplied  our  Northern 
Dioceses  with  many  Bishops,  and  furnished  many  worthies  for  the  Chris- 
tian rolls,  came  to  an  end  in  the  person  of  James  Beaton,  Archbishop 
of  Glasgow,  who  died  April  24,  1603. 

"  Seven  years  afterwards  the  Christians  in  Scotland  received  a  fresh 
succession  of  Bishops  from  England,  when  John  Spottiswood,  Andrew 
Lamb,  and  Gavin  Hamilton,  were  consecrated  respectively  Bishops  of 
Glasgow,  Brechin,  and  Galloway.  The  mandate  for  the  consecration,  di- 
rected to  the  Bishops  of  London,  Ely,  Rochester,  and  Worcester,  is  in 
Archbishop  Bancroft's  Register,  at  Lambeth,  f.  175.  But  the  record 
of  the  consecration  itself  I  have  not  been  able  to  find.  In  Bishop  Keith's 
Catalogue  of  Scottish  Bishops  it  is  stated  to  have  taken  place  in  the 
Chapel  at  London  House,  Oct.  21,  1610. 

"  This  succession  came  likewise  to  an  end,  as  concerns  Scotland,  in  the 
person  of  Thomas  Sydserff,  who  died  Bishop  of  Orkney  in  1663,  though 
it  was  transmitted  to  Ireland  by  John  Lesly,  Bishop  of  the  Isles,  who  was 
translated  to  Raphoe  in  1633,  and  to  Clogher  in  1660  ;  and  who  in  that 
year  and  1663  assisted  at  the  consecration  of  thirteen  Bishops  ;  one  of 
whom  (Fuller,  Bishop  of  Limerick)  brought  it  back  again  to  England, 
when  he  was  removed  to  Lincoln,  and  assisted  at  our  consecrations, 
But  previously  to  Sydserff's  death  another  consecration  of  Bishops  for 
the  Church  in  Scotland  had  been  obtained  from  England.  For  on 
Dec.  15,  1661,  as  appears  by  Archbishop  Juxon's  Register  at  Lambeth, 
f.  237,  James  Sharp,  Andrew  Fairfoull,  Robert  Leighton,  and  James 
Hamilton,  were  consecrated  respectively  to  the  Sees  of  St  Andrews, 
Glasgow,  Dunblane,  and  Galloway." 

[It  maybe  here  observed,  that  every  attempt  to  discover  the  Diocesan 
Records  and  Registers  from  1662  to  1688  has  hitherto  failed,  and  it  is 
impossible  to  ascertain  the  Bishops  who  assisted  at  the  consecrations  of 
their  brethren.  There  may  probably  be  some  documents  in  the  Gene- 
ral Register  House,  Edinburgh  ;  for  the  proceedings  at  every  Consecra- 
tion, and  the  Bishops  present,  must  have  been  reported  to  the  Scottish 
Privy  Council,  and  by  them  to  the  Sovereign  in  England.  The  pre- 
sent  writer  has  ventured  some  additions  to  Mr  PercevaFs  Table,  as  it  re- 
spects the  filling  up  of  the  Dioceses  after  the  Revolution.  In  other  re- 
spects the  note  at  the  end  of  the  list  of  the  Succession  is  correct.] 


APPENDIX. 


57H 


No. 


Name  of  Bishop. 


Name  of  See. 


Date  of  Con- 
secration. 


Names  of  Consecrators. 


1 
2 
3 


5 

6 
7 
8 
9 
10 

11 
12 
13 

14 


15 


16 


i: 


18 


\y 


James  Sharp. 

Andrew  Fairfull. 

Robert  Leighton, 
translated  to  Glas- 
gow, 1671. 

James  Hamilton. 

George  Halliburton. 
Murdoch  Mackenzie. 
David  Strachan. 
John  Paterson. 
David  Fletcher. 
Robert  Wallace. 

George  Wishart. 
David  Mitchel. 
Patrick  Forbes. 

Alexander  Burnet, 
translated  to  Glas- 
gow, 1664;    to  St 
Andrews,  1679- 

Patrick  Scougall. 


Andrew  Honyman. 


20 


St  Andrews."] 
Glasgow. 
Dunblane.       I 

I 
Galloway.      J 


Dunkeld. 

Moray. 

Brechin. 

Ross. 

Argyle. 

The  Isles. 


Edinbur 

Aberdeen 

Caithness 


llcnrv  Guthrie. 


William  Sm>ggie. 


Alexander  Young, 
translated  to  Ross, 
March  29,  1679. 


James  Ramsajj  trans- 
lated to  Ross,  1684. 


2 1  John  Paterson}  trans- 
lated t<»  Edinburgh, 
1 679  to  Glasgowj 
1687 


Edinburgh, 


I  >ulilil;i  ii<  . 


Galloway, 


Dec-  1.5, 
1661. 


1 

I 
i 


inburgh.  } 
lerdeen.  > 
ithness.       ) 


Aberdeen  . 


Aberdeen. 


Orkney. 


Dunkeld. 


Argyll. 


May  7, 
1662. 


June  1, 
1662. 


1663. 


Easter, 
1664. 


1664. 


1664-5. 


1666. 


1671. 


1678. 


/Gilbert  London. 
George  Worcester. 
Richard  Carlisle. 
kHugh  Llandaff. 


C  James  St  Andrews,  1. 
<  Andrew  Glasgow,  2. 
(  James  Galloway.  4. 


I 


'Robert  Glasgou 

\li  \.   i'.ilinhun/h,    19 

The  "ili.  i  Bishop  is  not 
mentioned  | 


580 


APPENDIX. 


No. 


Name  of  Bishop. 


22 


23 


24 


25 


26 


27 


28 


29 


30 


31 


32 


33 


Arthur  Ross,  translated 
to  Galloway,  1679 ; 
to  Glasgow,  1679; 
to  St  Andrews, 
1684. 

Robert  Laurie. 


William  Lindsay. 


James  Aitkins,  trans- 
lated to  Galloway, 
1680. 

Andrew  Wood,  trans- 
lated to  Caithness, 
1680. 

George  Hallyburton, 
translated  to  Aber- 
deen, 1682. 

Andrew  Bruce,  trans- 
lated to  Orkney, 
1688. 

Colin  Falconar,  trans- 
lated to  Moray, 
1680. 


Hector  Maclean. 


iDate  of  Con- 
Name  of  See.        oration. 


Archibald  Graham. 


Robert  Douglas,  trans- 
lated to  Dunblane, 
1684. 

Alexander  Cairncross, 
translated  to  Glas- 
gow, same  year ;  to 
Raphoe,  1693. 


Argyll. 


Brechin. 


Dunkeld. 


Moray. 


The  Isles. 


Brechin. 


Dunkeld. 


Argyll.] 


Argyll. 


The  Isles. 


Brechin. 


Brechin. 


April  28, 
1675. 


1676. 


May  7, 
1677. 


Namea  of  Consecrators. 


Robert  Glasgow,    3. 
Alex.  Edinburgh,  19. 
(The  other  Bishop  is   not 
mentioned.) 


1677. 


1678. 


1678. 


1679. 


Sept.  5, 
1679. 


1680. 


1680. 


1682. 


1684. 


APPENDIX. 


581 


No. 


34 


35 


Name  of  Bishop. 


Name  of  See. 


Date  of  Con- 
secration. 


Names  of  Consecrators. 


36 


37 


James  Drummond. 


Alexander  Rose,  trans 
lated  to  Edinburgh, 
1687. 


John  Hamilton. 


William  Hay. 


38  John  Gordon. 


Brechin. 


Moray. 


Dunkeld. 


Moray. 


Galloway. 


Dec.  25, 
1684. 


I 


1686. 


Oct.  19, 
1686. 


1688. 


Sept.  4, 
1688. 


{ 


The  Bishops  in  Scotland  ivere  now  deprived  of  their  Temporalities. 


39 
40 


41 
42 


43 


44 


John  Fullarton. 
John  Sage. 

John  Falconar. 
Henry  Christie. 


45 

46 


Archibald  Campbell. 


James  Gadderar. 


Jeremiah  Collier. 
Nathaniel  Spinckes 
Samuel  Hawes. 


Arthur  Millar. 
William  Irvine. 


I 


Aberdeen. 


?or  thoEng-  } 
lish  Non-  ? 
jurors.        ) 


Edinburgh. 


Jan.  25, 
1705. 


April  28, 
1709. 


Aug.  24, 
1711. 


Feb.  24, 
1712. 


Juno  3, 
1713. 


Oct  22, 
1718. 


(  John  Glasgow,  2 1 . 

<  Alex&nderEdinburgh,  35. 
(  Robert  Dunblane,  32. 

(  Alexander  Edinburgh,  35. 

<  Robert  Dunblane,  32. 
(  John  Sage,  40. 

Alexander  Edinburgh,  35. 
Robert  Dunblane,  32. 
John  Falconar,  41. 

George  Ilickes. 
John  Falconar,  41. 
Archibald  Campbell,  43. 


(  George  Hickes. 
\  Archibald  Campbell,  43. 
James  Gadderar,  44. 


Alexander  Edinb*rgkt  3d. 
John  l'ullarton,  39. 
John  Falennar,  41. 


582 


APPENDIX. 


No. 


Name  of  Bishop. 


Name  of  See. 


Date  of  Con- 
secration. 


Names  of  Consecrators. 


47 

48 


49 
50 


51 
52 


53 


54 
55 


56 
57 


58 


59 


60 


61 


62 


John  Ouchterlonie 
James  Rose. 


David  Freebair 
Andrew  Cant 


irn.       ) 


Alexander  Duncan. 
Robert  Norrie. 


Henry  Doughty. 


Thomas  Rattray. 


John  Gillan. 
David  Rankine. 


William  Dunbar, 
Robert  Keith. 


Andrew  Lumsden. 


Robert  White. 


William  Falconar. 


James  Rait. 


John  Alexander. 


} 


,} 


) 


Edinburgh. 


Glasgow. 


For  the  Eng- 
lish Non- 
jurors. 


Brechin. 
Glasgow. 


Dunkeld. 


Fife. 
Glasgow. 


Moray. 
Caithness. 


Edinburgh. 


Dunblane. 


Caithness. 


Brechin. 


Dunkeld. 


} 


Oct.  17, 
1722. 


1 724. 


Mar.  30, 
1725. 


Nov.  29, 
1726. 


June  4, 
1727. 


June  11. 
1727. 


June  18, 
1727. 


Nov.  2, 
1727. 


June  24, 
1735.  ' 


Sept.  10, 
1741. 


Oct.  4, 
1742. 


Aug.  9, 
1743. 


John  Fullarton,  39. 
Arthur  Millar,  45. 
William  Irvine,  46. 

John  Fullarton,  39. 
William  Irvine,  46. 
Arthur  Millar,  45. 

f  John  Fullarton,  39. 
J  Arthur  Millar,  45. 
j  William  Irvine,  46. 
„ David  Freebairn,  47. 

David  Freebairn,  47- 
Alexander  Duncan,  49. 
Andrew  Cant,  48. 

(  James  Gadderar,  44. 
<  Alexander  Duncan,  49. 
(  Andrew  Cant,  48. 


f  David  Freebairn,  47. 
J  Alexander  Duncan,  49. 
j  James  Rose,  52. 
John  Ouchterlonie,  51. 


I 


(  James  Gadderar,  44. 
}  Arthur  Millar,  45. 
(  Thomas  Rattray,  53. 


Andrew  Cant,  48. 
Thomas  Rattray,  53. 
Robert  Keith,  57. 

Thomas  Rattray.  53. 
Robert  Keith,  57. 
William  Dunbar,  56. 

Thomas  Rattray,  53. 
Robert  Keith,  57- 
Robert  White,  59. 

Thomas  Rattray,  53. 
Robert  White,  59. 
Robert  Keith,  57. 

Robert  Keith,  57' 
j  Robert  White,  59. 
}  William  Falconar,  60. 
^  James  Rait,  61. 


APPENDIX. 


583 


No. 


Name  of  Bishop. 


Name  of  See. 


Date  of  Con- 
secration. 


Names  of  Consecrators. 


63 


Andrew  Gerard. 


64 


Henry  Edgar. 


65 


66 


67 


68 


69 


70 


71 


;-' 


Robert  Forbes. 


Robert  Kilgour, 


Charles  Rose. 


Arthur  Petrie. 


George  Innes. 


John  Skinner. 


Samuel  Seabury. 


Andrew  Macfarlane. 


William  Abernetby 
1  hrununond. 

~:\    John  Stra<  hail. 


n 


Jonathan  Wat 


Aberdeen. 


Fife. 


Ross  and 
Caithness. 


Aberdeen. 


Dunblane. 


Moray. 


Brechin. 


Aberdeen. 


( Connecticut. 


Morav 


IJrcehin. 


Dunkeld. 


July  17, 
1747. 


Nov.  1, 
1759. 


June  24, 
1762. 


Sept.  21, 
1768. 


Aug.  24, 
1774. 


June  27, 
1777. 


Aug.  13, 
1778. 


Sept.  25, 
1782. 


Nov.  14, 

1784. 


March  7, 

1787. 


Sept.  26, 
1787. 


Robert  White,  59. 
William  Falconar,  60. 
James  Rait,  6 1 . 
,John  Alexander,  62. 


f  Robert  White,  59. 
I  William  Falconar,  60. 
j  James  Rait,  61. 
[.John  Alexander,  62. 

(  William  Falconar,  60. 
}  John  Alexander,  62. 
(^  Andrew  Gerard,  63. 

C  William  Falconar,  60. 

<  James  Rait,  61. 

(  John  Alexander,  62. 

(  William  Falconar,  60. 
■J  James  Rait,  6 1 . 
[  Robert  Forbes,  65. 


i 


William  Falconar,  60. 
James  Rait,  6 1 . 
Robert  Kilgour,  66. 
^ Charles  Rose,  67. 

(  William  Falconar,  60. 

<  Charles  Rose,  67. 
(  Arthur  Petrie,  68. 

(  Robert  Kilgour,  66. 

<  Charles  Rose,  67. 
(  Arthur  Petrie.  68. 

(  Robert  Kilgour,  66. 
1  Arthur  Petrie,  6 
(  John  Skinner,  "0. 

i  Roberl  Kilgour,  I 
!  Arthur  Petrie,  68. 
John  Skinner,  70. 


! 


John  Skinner,  70i 
Robert  Kilgour,  66* 

Andre*    .Macfarlane.  7  1 


Sept.  20, 
1792 


John  Skinner,  7'  I 

Andrew  Macfarlane,  7 1  • 

\\  illiam  A   I  >i  umm 
hJohn  Strachan,  7 


584 


APPENDIX. 


No. 


Name  of  Bishop. 


Name  of  See. 


Date  of  Con- 
secration. 


Names  of  Consecratore. 


75 


76 


77 


78 


79 


80 


Alexander  Jolly. 


Daniel  Sandford. 


Patrick  Torry. 


George  Gleig. 


William  Skinner. 


David  Low. 


81 


82 

83 


84 


M.   H.   Luscombe. 


James  Walker. 


David  Moir. 
Michael  Russell. 


Charles  H.  Terrot 


Moray. 


Edinburgh. 


Dunkeld. 


Brechin. 


Aberdeen. 


Ross  and 
Argyll. 


To  go  abroad. 


Edinburgh. 


June  24, 
1796. 


Feb.  9, 
1806. 


Oct.  12, 

1808. 


Oct.  30, 
1808. 


Oct.  27, 
1816. 


Nor.  14, 
1819. 


Mar.  20, 
1825. 


Mar.  7, 
1830. 


Brechin. 
Glasgow. 


} 


Edinburgh. 


Oct.  8, 

1837. 


June  2, 
1841. 


(  William  A.  Drummond,  72. 
-J  Andrew  Macfarlane,  71. 
(  John  Strachan,  73. 

John  Skinner,  70. 
Jonathan  Watson,  74. 
Alexander  Jolly,  75. 

John  Skinner,  70. 
Andrew  Macfarlane,  71. 
Alexander  Jolly,  75. 

John  Skinner,  70. 
Alexander  Jolly,  75. 
Patrick  Torry,  77- 

f"  George  Gleig,  78. 
J  Alexander  Jolly,  75. 
]  Daniel  Sandford,  76. 
„ Patrick  Torry,  77. 

George  Gleig,  78. 
Alexander  Jolly,  75. 
Patrick  Torry,  77. 

(  George  Gleig,  78. 
<  Daniel  Sandford,  76. 
(  David  Low,  80. 

'George  Gleig,  78. 
J  Alexander  Jolly,  75. 
William  Skinner,  79. 
„  David  Low,  80. 


(  James  Walker,  81. 
1  William  Skinner,  79. 
(  David  Low,  80. 

William  Skinner,  79* 
Patrick  Torry,  77. 
David  Low,  80. 
David  Moir,  82. 
Michael  Russell,  83. 


The  Bishops  in  this  list  who  have  no  Sees  following  their  names  were  consecrated 
either  as  members  of  the  Episcopal  College,  or  as  coadjutors  to  other  Bishops. 


APPENDIX.  585 

"  It  is  with  regret  that  I  find  myself  unable  to  give  more  particulars  of 
the  Consecrations  in  Scotland  between  1662  and  1688.  A  collection  of 
Ecclesiastical  Records  belonging  to  the  Church  of  Scotland,  which  had 
been  deposited  by  Bishop  Campbell  (43)  in  the  Library  of  Sion  College, 
London,  was  burnt  in  the  fire  which  destroyed  the  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment, where  it  had  been  taken  for  some  purpose  of  inquiry.  These  re- 
cords (I  am  informed)  related  to  the  Archbishopric  of  Glasgow,  and 
would  probably  have  furnished  information  of  the  consecrations  in  that 
Archbishopric.  It  is  possible  that  the  Registers  of  St  Andrews  may 
be  still  in  existence,  though  it  is  not  at  present  known  where." 

The  present  writer  has  made  some  additions  to  the  above  list,  such  as 
the  consecration  of  Bishop  Terrot  in  1841,  and  two  of  the  consecrators 
of  two  Bishops  in  1674.  It  is  to  be  farther  observed,  that  though  after 
the  Revolution  the  College  Party  could  not  be  considered  Diocesan 
Bishops,  yet  Mr  Perceval  omits  to  mention  the  Dioceses  to  which  seve- 
ral of  the  coadjutor  Bishops  were  elected.  Mr  Perceval  observes  that 
the  Scottish  Episcopal  Succession  was  transmitted  to  Ireland  "by  John 
Lesly,  Bishop  of  the  Isles,  who  was  translated  to  Raphoe  in  1633,  and 
to  Clogher  in  1660."  A  preceding  Bishop  of  the  Isles,  however,  was 
translated  to  Raphoe,  whom  Bishop  Leslie  succeeded.  This  was  An- 
drew Knox,  nominated  Bishop  of  the  Isles  and  Abbot  of  Iona  in  1606, 
and  translated  to  Raphoe  in  1622,  where  ho  died  in  1632.  The  Epis- 
copal Succession  was  also  subsequently  transmitted  to  Ireland  in  the 
person  of  Dr  Alexander  Cairncross,  Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  most  irre- 
gularly and  unconstitutionally  deprived  of  his  See  by  James  II.  in  1687, 
and  appointed  to  the  See  of  Raphoe  by  William  III.  in  1603,  in  which 
he  continued  till  his  death  in  1701. 

As  the  political  principles  of  the  Scottisli  Bishops  after  the  Revolu- 
tion identified  them  considerably  with  the  English  Nonjurors,  wc  find 
several  of  the  former  intimately  connected  with  the  affairs  of  the  lattor. 
The  English  Prelates  deprived  at  the  Revolution  for  refusing  to  trans- 
fer their  allegiance  to  William  and  Mary  were,  as  is  well  known,  Arch- 
bishop Bancroft  of  Canterbury,  Bishops  Lloyd  of  Norwich,  Turner  of 
Ely,  Frampton  of  Gloucester,  Ker  of  Bath  and  Wells,  White  of  Peter- 
borough, Thomas  of  Worcester,  Cartwright  <»f  Chester,  and  Luko  of 
Chichester  ;  but  Bishops  Thomas,  Cartwright,  and  Luke,  died  before 


586  APPENDIX. 

the  act  of  deprivation  was  passed.  Apparently  relying  upon  the  canon- 
ical validity  of  one  of  the  last  acts  of  Archbishop  Sancroft's  life,  signing 
a  deputation  of  his  powers  as  metropolitan  to  Dr  Lloyd,  the  deprived 
Bishop  of  Norwich,  that  Prelate,  assisted  by  the  deprived  Bishops  of 
Ely  and  Peterborough,  consecrated  George  Hickesas  Suffragan  of  Thet- 
ford,  and  Thomas  Wagstaffe  as  Suffragan  of  Ipswich.  "  Under  what 
plea,"  says  Mr  Perceval,  "  consecrations  performed  in  the  Province  of 
Canterbury,  without  consultation  or  approval  of  the  Bishops  of  the  Pro- 
vince, whose  legitimate  institution  was  never  called  in  question,  and 
without  the  approval  of  the  now  existing  metropolitan,  can  be  regarded 
otherwise  than  as  irregular  and  schismatical,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  conceive. 
It  should  seem  that  the  deprived  Bishops  themselves  had  misgivings  on 
the  subject,  for  they  made  no  attempt  to  repeat  the  step,  and  it  was  not 
till  after  a  lapse  of  twenty  years,  during  which  all  the  deprived  Bishops 
and  Wagstaffe  had  died  off,  that  Hickes  determined  to  keep  up  a  suc- 
cession of  Bishops  for  the  Nonjurors  ;  for  which  purpose  he  applied  to 
the  Bishops  in  Scotland,  two  of  whom,  paying  more  regard  apparently 
to  their  political  attachments  than  to  the  Canons  of  the  Church,  agreed 
to  meddle  with  the  affairs  of  a  Province  in  which  they  had  no  voice,  and, 
together  with  Hickes,  consecrated  Collier,  Spinckes,  and  Hawes."  The 
Scottish  Bishops  here  mentioned  were  Bishops  Campbell  and  Gadderar, 
who  then  resided  in  England,  but  it  must  be  recollected  that,  in  ac- 
cordance with  their  political  principles,  they  in  common  with  the  Eng- 
lish Nonjurors  held  peculiar  views  of  the  then  position  of  the  Church  of 
England.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  however,  of  the  correctness  of  Mr 
Perceval's  statement.  Without  offering  any  opinion  as  to  whether  Hickes, 
Collier,  and  their  brethren,  were  canonically  consecrated,  or  are  to  be 
held  as  Bishops  in  the  proper  sense,  it  is  explicitly  declared  in  the 
36th  of  the  Apostolical  Canons,  which  are  of  such  antiquity  as  to  be 
ascribed  to  the  Apostolic  Age,  and  were  certainly  framed  not  later  than 
the  end  of  the  second  or  beginning  of  the  third  century — "  Let  not  a 
Bishop  presume  to  ordain  in  cities  or  villages  not  subject  to  him.  And 
if  he  be  convicted  of  doing  so,  without  consent  of  those  to  whom  such 
places  belong,  let  him  and  those  whom  he  has  ordained  be  deposed."* 
In  the  22d  Canon  of  the   Synod  of  Antioch  it  is  set  forth — "  Let  not 


Beveridge's  Pandect,  i.  24. 


APPENDIX.  5&7 

a  Bishop  go  into  another  city  or  district,  not  pertaining  to  him,  to  or- 
dain any  one,  unless  with  the  consent  of  the  proper  Bishop  of  the  dis- 
trict.    If  any  one  dare  to  do  so,  let  the  ordination  be  invalid,  and  him- 
self be  punished  by  the  Synod."*     Bishops  Hickes,  CampbeU,  and  Gad- 
derar,  consecrated  Collier,  Hawes,  and  Spinckes,  on  the  24th  of  March 
1713.     The  learning  of  those  Nonjuring  Bishops,  especially  Collier  and 
Spinckes,  is  well  known  by  their  works,     On  the  25th  of  January  1715, 
those  Bishops,  assisted  by  Bishops  Campbell  and  Gadderar,  consecrated 
Mr  Henry  Gandy  and  Mr  Thomas  Brett ;  and  on  the  25th  of  Novem- 
ber 1722  we  find  Bishop  Campbell  assisting  Bishops  Collier  and  Brett 
in  consecrating  Mr  John  Griffin.     "  Before  this  time,"  says  Mr  Perce- 
val, "  another  division  had  arisen  among  the  hapless  Nonjurors,  in  con- 
sequence of  Brett,  Collier,  and  the  Scottish  Bishop  Campbell,  who  had 
settled  himself  in  England,  insisting  upon  making  alterations  in  the 
Liturgy  (particularly  requiring  water  to  be  mixed  with  the  wine  in  the 
Eucharist),  to  which  Hawes,  Spinckes,  Gandy,  Taylor,  and  Bedford, 
would  not  consent ;  accordingly  a  separation  of  communion  took  place. 
After  the  death  of  Hawes,  of  Taylor,  and  of  Bedford,  Spinckes  and 
Gandy,  being  desirous  of  a  succession  in  their  line,   applied  to  the 
Bishops  in  Scotland,  and  they  (again,  as  it  seems  to  me,  unmindful  of 
their  duty)  consecrated  Mr  Henry  Doughty  for  their  friends  in  Eng- 
land."    The  date  of  this  consecration  was  March  30,  1725,  and  the 
Scottish  consecrators  are  stated  to  have  been  Bishops  Fullarton,  Mil- 
lar, Irvine,  and  Freebairn.     Bishop  Campbell  appears  as  assisting  with 
Bishops  Brett  and  Griffin  at  the  consecration  of  Mr  Thomas  Brett, 
jon.,  on  the  9th  of  April  1727.     This  line  of  the  Nonjuror-  became  de- 
funct at  the  death  of  Bishop  Gordon  in  1770,  who  was  consecrated  on 
the  11th  of  July  1741,  by  Bishops  Brett,  sen..  Smith,  and  Mawman. 

Then-  was  another  line  of  Nonjurors,  distinctly  Beparated  from  the 
above,  and  never  recognised,  because  the  consecrations  were  performed 

single  Bishops.     We  find  Bishop  Campbell  intimately  connected  with 
this  line.     In  1733  he  consecrated  Mr  Roger  Laurence,  the  author  oJ 
"  Lay  Baptism  [nvalid,"  who  was  the  first  of  this  new  line,  and  in  that 
year  he  and  Mr  Laurence  consecrated  Mr  Thomas  Deacon.     The  sue 
ore    were  Messrs    P.  J.    Brown,    Kenrick    Price,    William    Cart 

Bei  >Tiil'        Pand<  ct,  i    I 


588  APPENDIX. 

wright,  Thomas  Garnet,  and  Charles  Boothe.  Mr  Boothe  died  in  Ire- 
land in  1805,  which  terminated  this  line  of  the  English  Nonjurors,  the 
notices  of  all  of  whom,  says  Mr  Perceval,  "  painful  and  melancholy  as 
they  are,  as  records  of  the  errors  of  high-minded  and  honourable  men, 
will  not  be  without  their  use  if  they  shall  assist  in  convincing  any  per- 
son of  the  wretchedness  of  schism."  Such  was  the  extinction  of  the 
Nonjurors,  with  whom  after  the  death  of  Bishop  Campbell  the  Scot- 
tish Episcopal  Church  had  little  intercourse,  and  we  find  Bishop  Keith 
seriously  expostulating  with  one  of  them  for  unnecessary  interference 
in  Scottish  Episcopal  affairs.  This  was  Bishop  George  Smith,  conse- 
crated on  the  26th  of  December  1728,  by  Henry  Gandy,  John  Black- 
burn, and  Richard  Rawlinson,  the  sixth,  eleventh,  and  fourteenth  line 
of  Bishops  of  that  line. 

It  seems  that  Messrs  Welton  and  Talbot,  two  of  the  early  Nonjuring 
Bishops,  whose  consecration,  however,  was  never  recognized  by  the 
rest  of  their  brethren,  because  it  was  done  by  only  one  individual,  Ralph 
Taylor,  without  their  approval,  went  to  North  America,  and  performed 
episcopal  duties,  Welton  located  himself  at  Philadelphia,  but  by  the 
complaint  of  the  Bishop  of  London  to  Government  he  retired  to  Por- 
tugal, where  he  died  in  1726.  Talbot  submitted  by  taking  the  oaths. 
Dr  Samuel  Seabury  was  therefore  the  first  Bishop  of  the  Church  in 
the  United  States.  As  related  in  the  present  history,  he  was  conse  • 
crated  in  1784  by  Bishops  Kilgour,  Petrie,  and  Skinner.  In  1787  Bi- 
shops White  and  Provoost  were  consecrated  for  the  American  Church 
by  the  Archbishops  of  Canterbury  and  York,  and  the  Bishops  of  Peter- 
borough and  of  Bath  and  Wells.  In  1790  Bishop  Madison  of  Vir- 
ginia was  consecrated  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  the  Bishops 
of  London  and  Rochester.  The  first  consecration  in  the  United  States 
was  that  of  Bishop  Claggett  for  the  Diocese  of  Maryland,  at  which  Bi- 
shop Seabury  of  Connecticut  assisted,  with  Bishop  Provoost  of  New 
York,  Bishop  White  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Bishop  Madison  of  Maryland, 
thus  amalgamating  the  Scottish  and  English  consecrations,  from  which 
the  succession  in  the  American  Church  is  derived. 


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HISTORY 

OF  THE 

EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  OF  SCOTLAND, 

WHEN  ESTABLISHED  BY  LAW, 

FROM  THE 

REFORMATION  TO  THE  REVOLUTION. 

BY 

JOHN  PARKER  LAWSON,  M.A. 


#%  It  is  respectfully  requested  that  those  Subscribers  to  the  present 
Work  who  are  disposed  to  promote  the  publication  of  the  above  Volume, 
will  transmit  their  names  to  Messrs  GALLIE  &  BAYLEY,  69, 
George  Street,  Edinburgh,  either  direct,  or  by  their  respective  Book- 
sellers. This,  and  the  present  Volume,  will  form  a  complete  and  au- 
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Charles  II.,  the  whole  derived  from  valuable  MSS.  and  other  docu- 
ments. Many  curious  and  interesting  details  will  be  given  of  tho  trie 
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GALLIE  &  BAYLEY  beg  respectfully  to  inform  Members 
of  the  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  that  they  will  always  find  at 
their  Premises  a  Select  and  Extensive  Stock  of  approved  THEO- 
LOGICAL WORKS,  BOOK  OF  COMMON  PRAYER, 
CHURCH  SERVICE,  &c,  in  every  VARIETY  of  BINDING  ; 
and  being  themselves  in  constant  personal  attendance,  Strangers 
and  others  honouring  them  with  a  visit  may  rely  on  the  most  assi- 
duous attention. 

G9,  George  Street, 
Edinburgh,  December  1812. 


COT..  COLL 

LIBRARY. 

N.YORK. 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY    | 

This  book  is  due  on  the  date  indicated  below,  or  at  the 
expiration  of  a  definite  period  after  the  date  of  borrowing, 
as  provided  by  the  rules  of  the  Library  or  by  special  ar- 
rangement with  the  Librarian  in  charge. 

DATE  BORROWED 

DATE  DUE 

DATE  BORROWED 

DATE  DUE 

C28(238)M100 

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